Warm Hugs 3: The Fight for the Future
by SarahRapunzel
Summary: SEQUEL TO WARM HUGS & WARM HUGS 2: Following the events of Warm Hugs 2, the sisters are finally settling into the new growing family dynamic. But it turns out that a few loose ends from a previous adventure has returned stronger than ever. Secrets are revealed, alliances will be shattered, and tragedy will change the royal family's future forever.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone! I apologize for the long hiatus but I had some personal stuff to deal with. But now I am back and ready to write you guys an awesome concluding story to the Warm Hugs trilogy. Thanks for all of the love and support. And as always, please review and Happy Reading! :)**

 **Chapter 1**

Lightning flashed as a loud clap of thunder followed shortly behind it. The rain and wind doubled in force as it pounded against the castle and violently shook its windows and doors. A heavy sigh escaped from Elsa's lips as she stood by the large window in her study, watching her servants bustle around the courtyard preparing the castle and kingdom of Arendelle for what seemed to be an unusual and unruly storm. "Well, I guess as unusual and unruly as an eternal winter in the middle of summer," she said out loud to no one, "This kingdom has braved through far worse than a little summer storm." Another round of thunder and lightning occurred suddenly, temporarily startling the queen, "Despite how violent this storm seems to be getting." She mindlessly walked over to her desk and plopped into her seat. With a vacant stare, she observed the large amount of completed paperwork neatly piled on her desk, ready to be distributed whenever this storm decided to subside.

This unusual storm had been raging its own personal war on the kingdom of Arendelle for about a week now. At first, Elsa didn't mind because it forced her to completely devote her time to her work, being that Anna and Kristoff were still on their honeymoon and Hans decided that this storm would be the opportune moment to take the Arendelle fleet out into stormy conditions for a few days and really run them through their routines. But now, as the workload disappeared, she realized how bored and lonely she felt without her family. Even Olaf had went up to the North Mountain to spend time with Marshmellow and the Snowgies since the storm was sure to bring a fresh layer of snow to the mountain.

Finally deciding that she was tired of feeling bored, she stood up and decided to help out her staff even though they insisted that everything was under control. With a kind smile on her face, she confidently strode down the castle corridors and offered her services to all those she passed. But it seemed that her staff did have everything under control and her help was not needed. That is, until William ran up to the young queen.

"Your Majesty, by any chance are you free at the moment?"

"Yes. What do you need me to do?"

"Would it be too much to ask of you to watch Henry?"

"No, not at all. But I do have to ask why?"

"Annaliese as come down with the stomach flu and I have been trying to keep Henry away from her germs but this storm really has me pulled in every direction and-"

"It's alright, William, I understand. Where is Henry right now?"

"Gerda is feeding him in the kitchen."

"Alright, I will take care of him. And you can take care of your tasks."

"Thank you, Queen Elsa." With a quick bow, the young man made a hasty exit towards the courtyard.

Elsa made her way to the kitchen and spotted Gerda feeding the 11-month baby through the kitchen windows. Seeing the young prince made Elsa smile with delight as she thought about how she and Hans were soon going to have a child of their own. "Good morning, Gerda. I've been told that Henry needs to spend some time with his aunt?"

"Good morning, Your Majesty." Gerda smiled with relief, "I am so grateful that you offered to help. Poor Annaliese-"

"William told me. Tough break."

Gerda nodded her head as she stood up and handed Henry over to Elsa, "Yes, well, I'm just glad that you were available to help. This storm has me pulled in every direction…"

"William told me about that too." Elsa happily received her young nephew, "I'm just relieved that I can finally help."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Gerda quickly bowed before heading out of the kitchen at an urgent pace.

Soon it was just Elsa and Henry, left to stare at each other in fascination. Elsa was embarrassed to admit it but this was the first time that she and Henry were alone with each other. Every time Elsa was with any babies whether it be Henry, Evangeline, or Flynn, somebody else was always there with her. In a strange sense, the thought kind of being alone with a baby made Elsa a little anxious but she figured that since she was going to have a baby in the near future, now would be a good time to start getting comfortable around them.

"Well, uhh…" She glanced down at the counter and noticed that there were some mashed bananas still in the small bowl, "I guess you would like to finish your meal?" Elsa glanced at Henry for affirmation, but received none, "Alright, well, let's head to the dining room. That's the most suitable place for you to be eating anyways."

She carefully walked into the dining room, carrying both Henry and his unfinished meal. She sat at her normal spot at the table and balanced Henry onto her lap, "Alright, here we go." She scooped up some mashed bananas and brought it to Henry's mouth. Much to her surprise, Henry opened his mouth and willingly accepted the fruit.

"Wow. Usually I hear horror stories about trying to feed babies. But it's not that hard." As she reached for another scoop, she heard a faint gurgle noise, followed up the small amount of spit up that started to run down his chin, "Oh! No, don't do that." Elsa grabbed the napkin and gently wiped his mouth, "See? Clean is much better, isn't it?"

Henry happily giggled as he clapped his chunky hands together, obviously charmed by his aunt. "You know…" Elsa fed him another spoonful, "You remind me a lot of your Uncle Hans." As she wiped his little chin a small smile spread across his sweet face, making Elsa giggle, "Yeah, Hans also gets excited when I wipe his chin." She smiled as she continued feeding her nephew, the remarkable similarities between Henry and Hans made it pretty easy for Elsa to pretend that Henry was her and Hans' child.

After the feeding, Elsa decided to take Henry back to her and Hans' room for his mid-morning nap…and hers. One thing Elsa did love about the storm was the constant heavy rainfall that it provided which always helped lull her to sleep. Throughout the first three months of her pregnancy, Elsa was pretty pleased by the lack of morning sickness although she did experience excessive fatigue. "Alright, now…" She grabbed a small blanket by the foot of her bed and then carefully climbed onto the bed. She didn't like to mess up the bed just for a quick nap so she always slept on top of her covers and simply wrapped herself up in a small blanket. But since she had company this time, she gently laid the blanket on top of the two of them as she wrapped a protective arm around the little prince. She quietly hummed a soft lullaby as she gently combed her fingers through Henry's little tuff of red hair, watching her nephew slowly close his eyes. In a matter of minutes, the two of them had drifted off to sleep and were softly snoring together.

* * *

" _He's beautiful. I'm so happy for you, Elsa. And of course you too, Hans."_

" _Thanks, Anna." They couple simultaneously responded._

" _So have you decided on a name yet?"_

 _Elsa smiled down at the small prince resting in her arms, bright red hair like his father and bright blue eyes like his mother, "I was thinking Benjamin?"_

" _I like it. It's noble, strong, plus you can call him 'Ben' for short." Anna excitedly clapped._

" _Then it's agreed. We'll name him Benjamin." Hans gently wrapped an arm around Elsa's shoulders and placed a kiss to her sweaty forehead._

" _Elsa?"_

 _Elsa looked up from her baby and her smile quickly faded, "Mama? Papa?" Standing at the foot of her bed stood the late King and Queen of Arendelle, "How? What's going on?"_

" _We've come to see our grandchild." Her mother kindly replied, slowly making her way toward the young prince._

" _But-"_

" _Mama, he's got yours and Elsa's eyes." Anna happily linked arms with her mother like everything was normal, "Come look."_

 _Elsa suspiciously eyed her parents, something didn't feel right to her. Her parents did not appear as vibrant as everyone or everything in the room, they looked very pale, almost deathly. She felt like she should not hand her baby over to her mother, but at the same time, she could not resist._

" _It's alright, Elsa." Hans gently coaxed her, "Let your mother hold Ben."_

 _Elsa mindlessly did as she was told, still carefully watching her baby in her mother's arms, "What do you want?"_

" _Oh Elsa…I am so sorry. So very sorry." Her mother's normally kind face wore a sorrowfully expression, "But it's time to say goodbye to Benjamin."_

" _What's going on?!" Elsa tried to get her son back, but she could not make her body move, "Give me back my baby!"_

 _Her father stepped forward and wrapped an arm around his wife, "We promise to take care of him."_

" _What?! No!" Elsa watched in horror as the bright vibrant color of her son slowly drained away to match the deathly pale color of her parents, "No! Stop!"_

" _He'll be waiting for you, just like your mother and I are waiting for you and Anna."_

" _Anna, do something!" Elsa screamed._

" _Elsa, I'm sorry but you are going to have to let Ben go. This is not the right time, this is not your time."_

 _Tears streamed down Elsa's face, "No, please, we've worked so hard to have this baby. You can't just take him away!"_

" _Goodbye, Ben." Anna softly whispered to the pale prince, "I'll see you again soon."_

" _No, stop! Please!" Elsa cried as her parents turned around and slowly walked out of the room, taking her baby with them._

"Stop…" Elsa whimpered as she awoke. She looked down and noticed the small baby with red hair sleeping beside her, "Ben?" The baby stirred and opened his eyes, revealing Annaliese's deep blue eyes, not the bright blue ones from her dream. "Henry, you're Henry." Elsa softly spoke to herself. As she laid back down onto the bed a sharp pain from her abdomen hit her, making her gasp. She placed a cool hand on her stomach and applied a small amount of pressure which relieved some of the pain. When it seemed that most of the pain had subsided, she slowly sat up and realized how sore her lower back was feeling. "I must have slept wrong." She winced as she tried to stretch out her back.

She glanced at the clock and realized it was past noon, "Well so much for making it to lunch on time." She smiled down at her nephew, "But to be fair, I was going to have lunch by myself anyways. No one else is here. It's just you and me, Henry." The baby smiled and happily wiggled his little body, making Elsa laugh as she scooped him up.

As she turned to leave to the room, she caught sight of the small painting on her nightstand of her, Anna, and their parents shortly before the gates were closed. This painting was her most cherished possession during her years of isolation but now the longer she stared at her late parents, the more anxious she felt about her dream. "It was just a dream." She whispered to herself. The small gurgling sounds from Henry caused her to snap out of her trance, "What is it, Henry?" Her nephew continued to babble as he pointed towards the window, "You want to see outside?"

She strolled over to the window and watched the heavy rain continue to pour down upon her kingdom. She sighed, "You know, once this rain stops then Anna and Kristoff should be back. It's already been over a month since they left for their honeymoon but I wouldn't expect them to travel back under these harsh conditions." Elsa sat on the windowsill with Henry on her lap, "I sure do miss Anna." She looked down at Henry, "I feel bad that you don't have any siblings. They are really special people. But you know…" She readjusted him on her lap, "If your mommy ever decides to finally settle down and marry again, you might have a half-sibling which is just as special. If only she would just give William a chance. They hit it off wonderfully at the Christmas Eve ball, but ever since then there's been nothing but awkwardness between them." She began bouncing Henry on her lap, "We need to find a way to get those two together, Henry." She stopped bouncing him, "Oh my goodness I must be bored if I have nothing else better to do than meddle in other people's private lives. I'm turning into my sister." Elsa groaned as she stood up and rested Henry on one of her hips, "Okay, this is what is going to happen. We are going to eat lunch and then we are going to help me find a hobby or something. Deal?"

As she turned away from the window and started for the door, Henry out stretched his hand and pointed at the window again, "Henry, we were just there. Trust me, everything is going to look exactly the same as it did ten seconds ago." She took a step out into the hall when Henry began to cry, his little arm still reaching for the window, "Ugh. Fine." Elsa walked back to the window, "See? Nothing has changed. If anything, everything is just a little bit wetter than before-"

She paused when she noticed that there was something different about the view, "Well I'll be…" A huge smile formed on her face when she spotted the Arendelle fleet pulling into the docks, "He's back."

* * *

"Do you think they will start to worry about us?"

"Who?"

"Elsa and Hans? Don't you think they'll worry that we haven't returned?"

"Perhaps but what are we going to do? The weather is terrible. Besides, I'm sure they wouldn't expect us to travel all the way back to Arendelle in this storm."

"Well, they might." Anna huffed as she stood by the window in the cozy one bedroom cabin they had been spending their honeymoon in.

"Do explain." Kristoff mindlessly responded to his wife as he turned the page of his book.

"They know we've travelled in worse."

"Define worse."

"Oh I don't know, how about the summer snowstorm Elsa bestowed upon Arendelle two years ago?"

Kristoff stopped reading and looked up at Anna, "Was that really two years ago?"

Anna nodded, "Uh, yeah."

"Wow." Kristoff returned to his book.

Anna pursed her lips together as she analyzed her husband. With a small smirk on her lips, she let out a long sigh, "Phew, is it just me or is it hot in here?" She playfully tugged at the collar of her dress.

"Well, you are standing right by the fireplace. That might have something to do with it."

Anna strolled over to the bed where Kristoff was reading, "Nope…that wasn't it. I'm still hot." She leaned on the bed, "Aren't you feeling a little warm?"

"Nah, I'm alright."

"Hmm. Well, you won't mind if I change into something a little cooler then?"

"Go for it."

Anna effortlessly unclasped her dress and let it fall to the floor, "That's a little better. What do you think?"

Kristoff looked up at her and noticed her standing by the foot of the bed with nothing but her chemise on, "You look cold."

"I'm not…c-cold." Anna shivered.

Kristoff closed his book and got off the bed, "Come here." He opened his arms wide and easily wrapped them around Anna, "Better?"

"Better…" Anna pouted, "But what are you reading that is so interesting?"

"You really wanna know?" Anna nodded. "I have no idea."

"What?"

"I haven't been able to concentrate on the book this entire time. You're so distracting…in the best way possible of course."

"You were teasing me?"

"Don't act so surprised. You've been teasing me this entire honeymoon."

Anna laughed, "So what are we going to do about this?"

"Well, I like what you were planning so far. What else did you have in mind?"

Anna smirked, "Maybe a little bit of this." She leaned forward and softly kissed her husband, followed by a gentle lip bite, "So far so good?"

"Pretty good." Kristoff smiled before scooping her up and walking her over to the bed. He placed her down in the middle of the bed before climbing on top of her, "But maybe there could be a little more of this." He leaned down and traced hot kisses down her neck, receiving a happy sigh from his wife.

"You are way better at this than I am." Anna got excited when she felt his strong hands rest on her hips.

"At least you don't giggle as much as you did on our wedding night."

"That wasn't my fault! You were so awkward and adorable, I couldn't help it."

"I was nervous-" They stopped when they heard someone knocking on the door.

"Who on earth could that be?" Anna whispered, "I thought you said that this was a secret cabin. Nobody should know about this place."

"You and I are the only ones who know the location of this cabin. Not even the trolls know."

The knocking continued and Anna started to feel panicked, "What are we going to do?"

"Stay here and hide by the bed."

"No way, I wanna help!"

"Anna, you are not properly dressed to leave the cabin, let alone fight off an intruder."

"Ugh. Fine. I hate it when you use logic."

She knelt down beside the bed as Kristoff placed a blanket on her shoulders, "Don't come out until I say so."

"Oh, oh, oh! Wait!" She stood and quickly kissed him, "Be careful."

"Aren't I always?" He turned around and stubbed his foot on the corner of the bed, "OW! I did not see that!"

"Kristoff?" Anna nodded towards the door, "There's kind of a situation at hand."

"Sorry." He strode over to the fireplace and picked up the axe before heading over to the door. He took a deep breath as he place his hand on the doorknob. After a mental countdown, he threw open the door and yelled as he lifted the axe. But he froze when he realized that the intruder wasn't an intruder, it wasn't even a stranger or a human. It was an overly friendly snowman. "For God's sake, Olaf! What are you trying to do, give us a heart attack?!"

"Heeey, I was in the neighborhood and I just wanted to stop by and say hello to my dear friends Anna and Kristoff."

"Olaf?" Anna peeked out from behind the bed, "What are you doing here?"

"Anna!" Olaf scooted around Kristoff and waddled into the cabin, "Why are you hiding?"

"I thought you were trying to kill us. Well, not _you_ , Olaf, but the stranger knocking on the door."

"There was a stranger knocking on your door?!"

"No, it was-uh, never mind." Anna rolled her eyes with a smile, "How are you doing Olaf? What brings you to the North Mountain?"

"The wonderful weather of course! I'm on my way to visit Marshmellow and the Snowgies. The feeling of fresh snow always gives us a rush of excitement and adventure."

"Wonderful weather?" Kristoff grumped as he put the axe back.

"Wonderful weather for a snowman, I imagine." Anna laughed, "How's Elsa and Hans and, well, Arendelle?"

"Well, let's see. It's been raining nonstop for about a week. Hans has taken his fleet out for practice during the storms so he's been gone for about a week as well. And Elsa's been doing a lot of work and taking a lot of naps."

Anna wrinkled her nose, "A lot naps?"

"Yeah, she's been awfully tired. It was my idea that she take naps until she feels better."

"Wait, is she sick?"

"No, no. Elsa's fine. There's no need to worry about her. I think she's actually been enjoying the solitude."

"Well, that sounds a lot like my sister." Anna muttered.

"Sooo, I guess I'd better be going now. You know how angry Marshmellow can get."

"As matter of fact, I do recall being chased down a mountain by it." Kristoff chuckled as he opened the door for Olaf to leave, "Say hi to all the Snowgies."

"Will do!" Olaf waved as he waddled out of the cabin, "Bye guys!"

Kristoff closed the door and faced Anna with a smirk, "So that just happened."

"Uh-huh." Anna anxiously bit her lip.

"Uh-oh."

"What?"

"You're biting your lip. You're worried about Elsa, aren't you?"

Anna dismissively waved her hand, "Pssh, nah. Olaf said she was fine, so I'm not going to worry about it." She happily skipped up to her husband and wrapped her arms around his strong neck, "Now, where were we?"

"Somewhere around here." He hoisted her up and she instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist as he walked back to the bed, all the while exchanging feverish kisses. Anna giggled as they both collapsed onto the bed and she eagerly let him climb on top of her, letting him pick up right where he left off.

But a couple minutes later, Anna let out a heavy sigh, "I mean, it's not normal for her to take so many naps. She usually reprimands me when I sleep in too late, let alone take several naps throughout the day."

Kristoff groaned as he straightened himself up and sat back on his ankles, "I knew you were worried about her."

"Look, she's obviously not feeling well and since Hans is gone she's practically all alone-"

"There is an abundance of servants and guards staffed at the castle at all times. She's hardly alone."

"She has no family."

"Kai and Gerda are practically family. I'm pretty sure they can handle whatever is going on."

"But didn't you hear what Olaf said about it raining nonstop for an entire week? That means the castle staff, including Kai and Gerda, will be busy with preparing the castle and the rest of the kingdom for possible flooding and other storm hazards. She is on her own."

He tiredly rubbed the back of his neck, "So what do you want to do?"

"I want to go back to Arendelle."

He nodded understandingly, "I figured as such." He stood up and walked over to the window, "The weather is still terrible and Sven is staying with the trolls so we'll have to walk a couple miles to the Valley of the Living Rock."

"We've been through worse." Anna encouraged with a smile.

"Yeah, we have." Kristoff grabbed his coat, "You better change into something warm. We'll come back for the rest of our clothes later."

Anna obediently did as she was told while Kristoff went outside to gather some snow to extinguish the fire with. Once Anna was fully dressed and everything in the cabin was closed up, the couple started their voyage to the Valley of the Living Rock.

"Hey, Kristoff?"

"Yeah?"

"How did Olaf know the location of our _secret_ cabin?"

"Did I forget to mention that he helped me carry the supplies up here?"

"Uh, yeah! That might have been nice to know instead of having a panic attack when he came knocking."

"To be fair, I completely forgot about it. I was just as surprised as you were when he showed up."

Anna laughed, "In retrospect, it's actually kinda funny."

"How do you figure?"

"Well, your face was priceless when you stubbed your toe."

Kristoff groaned, "I get injured in the line of duty and you laugh at me."

"Oh, yes, you sure did a good job protecting me from the up-to-no-good bed frame."

"Laugh it up but the next time you need my help, I won't be so heroic."

Anna proudly linked arms with her husband, "I'm not worried, Kristoff. You'll always be my knight in shining armor."

* * *

Slow paced footsteps echoed off the cold stone walls as a guest was escorted down the dark hall of the prison in Great Britain. After what seemed like miles of mind-numbing twists and turns, a single isolated cell at the end of the hall came into view. The guards searched the guest one last time before they allowed them to approach the secluded cell.

One of the guards banged on the cell door in order to wake up the prisoner, "Sullivan. You've got a visitor." The guard turned to leave as the guest approached, "You have five minutes."

"This shouldn't take long." The guest firmly replied. Once the guard disappeared around the corner to join the other guards, the guest showed their face through the small barred window, "Hello, Sullivan."

From the furthest, darkest corner of the cell emerged a grungy tattered Thomas Sullivan. He took one squinted look at his guest before a spine-chilling toothy grin cracked his lips, "What took you so long?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Please review and enjoy the next chapter! Happy Reading! :)**

 **CHAPTER 2**

It took every ounce of control Elsa possessed to keep her from running through the castle but she couldn't contain her smile. With Henry happily babbling in her arms she hurried down the winding staircase that would lead her to the landing by the main castle door. Finally, after what seemed like forever, she reached the door and excitedly pulled it open to reveal the heavy downpour of cold rain. "Wait a second…" Elsa looked at Henry with realization, "I can't just run out there with you in my arms. You could get really sick." With a wistful sigh, Elsa reluctantly closed the door and took a seat on a nearby bench.

Several minutes later the door opened up and Elsa perked up expectantly only to see Gerda hurry inside and close the door behind her, "That is certainly one heck of a storm brewing."

"Is everything alright?"

"Oh!" Gerda jumped, "Your Majesty, I didn't see you there."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's quite alright, dear. What are you doing sitting by the door? You could catch a chill."

"Catch a chill?" Elsa smirked with one cocked eyebrow.

"Ah-right. Never mind. Sometimes I forget who I am talking to and the motherly intuition just kicks in." Gerda smiled at Henry, "Although the young prince could still catch a chill."

Elsa glanced down at Henry, "Oh! You're right." Elsa stood up and followed Gerda as she headed towards one of the many linen closets scattered throughout the castle.

"What were you doing on the landing anyway?"

"I was…" Elsa hung her head with a sigh, "Waiting for Hans."

"Why do you act so ashamed about being excited to see your husband?"

"It makes me look weak and dependent. I can't have my people see me as some clingy love-sick girl. They expect a fearless ruler who doesn't depend on anyone but themselves."

"Now where on earth did you get that idea from?"

"The council."

Gerda furrowed her brows as she collected some fresh towels from the linen closet, "Is this the same council that made you take a husband because they claimed you needed a man by your side in order to properly rule this kingdom? _That_ council?"

"One and the same."

"Lord have mercy, I swear those men are only put on this earth to manipulate you and destroy whatever self-confidence you have." Gerda made sure the coast was clear before continuing in a lowered voice, "If you want my honest opinion, your father, rest his soul, assigned those men to the council shortly after losing his best friend, James Jagger. James was originally the one who was in charge of assigning King Agdar's council but when he supposedly 'died', the daunting task fell onto your father's shoulders. Everything was arranged in a disorganized rush and the result is the headache you are dealing with to this day."

Elsa leaned forward with intrigue, "So what are you suggesting? That I terminate their positions and create a council of my own?"

"Truthfully, Your Majesty, I am in no position of power to make such a suggestion. However, my husband who is also your royal advisor does have that power." Gerda gave Elsa a subtle wink, "I never would have pushed this on you when you first started out your reign as queen. But now your life is full of stability and support from your beloved family. I believe this once very daunting task could seem pretty harmless now." Gerda closed the closet and began making her way to another part of the castle that required her assistance, "Queen Elsa, in regards to Prince Hans, I believe that you should never feel ashamed of expressing your feelings about him. You love your husband and that is not a crime. Just because you are the Queen of Arendelle does not mean that you must hide your emotions all the time. Sure, you must keep a cool composure more often than most people, but you must not forget that you are still human."

Elsa smiled at her lady-in-waiting, "Thanks for everything, Gerda. I've got a lot of thinking to do." As they continued walking, Elsa noticed that Gerda was headed to another part of the courtyard, "Hey, Gerda?"

"Yes?"

"Is there any chance that I could take those towels to the courtyard for you?"

Gerda laughed, "Your Majesty, I have been waiting for you to ask that." Elsa handed Henry over to Gerda as she handed Elsa the towels, "I don't supposed Prince Henry has eaten lunch yet?"

"Oh God, I completely forgot!"

"I could tell. He has his hungry pout on right now." Gerda chuckled, "After I feed him, I'll run a hot bath for Prince Hans. He must be exhausted and soaked to the bone."

"Thanks." As Gerda turned to leave, Elsa pipped up, "By the way, when you said that I must keep a 'cool composure' more often than most people, by any chance was there a pun intended?"

"That is quite possible, Your Majesty." Gerda laughed as she headed toward the kitchen.

Elsa laughed to herself as she watched them leave. Once they disappeared around the corner, she turned on her heels and fast-walked to the courtyard. She opened one of the smaller side doors and stepped out into the refreshingly cold afternoon. Fortunately for her, the awning above her seemed to be holding well as she walked around the perimeter handing out towels to whoever needed them.

Just as she handed the last towel to one of the stable hands, she caught sight of someone walking through the gates…a very handsome red-headed someone. "Hans!" Elsa called out as she ran over to him with a smile.

"Elsa?" Hans looked at her in surprise as she threw her arms around his neck in a tight embrace, "What's going on?"

"Nothing." Elsa pulled away slightly, "I just missed you."

When she leaned forward to kiss him, but he leaned back in disbelief, "What's gotten into you? I thought you didn't want us showing affection in public?"

"I have decided that I don't care about that anymore. We love each other and who says we can't act like we do when we're around each other?"

Hans chuckled, "Wow, if this change of heart happened in the one week I was away, then I wonder what else would happen if I were to depart for a longer time span?"

"Just shut up and kiss me, Admiral Westergard."

Hans smiled, "Anything for the Queen of Arendelle." The two leaned in together and their lips met each other in the middle. Hans cupped her face with both of his hands while her hands rested on his forearms. They could have stayed in that intimate embrace forever if it weren't for the loud crash of thunder and increased downpour. "We should probably head inside. I was already soaked before I got to the castle and now you're soaked too and I don't even remember the last time I was completely warm and dried."

Elsa laughed as she grabbed his hand and headed toward the castle, "Come on. Gerda is running you a hot bath as we speak."

"Bless that woman. I swear, she is heaven sent." They hurried through the castle in order to avoid getting the floors all wet and made it to their room in record time. Hans immediately headed into the bathroom to change out of his wet clothes, "So how is everyone?"

"Well, Anna and Kristoff haven't returned from their honeymoon yet, not that I blame them."

"Me either, this storm is a menace." He walked out of the bathroom dressed in his bathrobe, "How's Annaliese and Henry?"

"Annaliese has the stomach flu. Henry is doing well though and William, Gerda, and I have been taking turns in watching him."

"Poor Annaliese. But it sounds like you had fun."

"I did." Elsa quickly changed out of her wet clothes and into her bathrobe, "Henry is such a sweet baby and he's always so cheery. You can't help but smile when you're around him."

Hans chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her waist, "Speaking of babies, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. Just a little tired but no nausea which is a relief." She sniffed at Hans and wrinkled her nose, "However, the smell of the sea on you might just make me sick."

"It didn't seem to bother you when we were outside."

"Outside has fresh air. Inside, not so much." Elsa giggled as she wiggled out of his embrace, "Now you better get in the tub while the water is still hot."

"Yes, ma'am." Hans chuckled as he walked back into the bathroom. Elsa used the warm towel sitting on the bed to dry her hair, smiling when she heard Hans let out a relaxed sigh as he slid into the bath.

"How did everything go with you and the fleet?"

"The men did well. I was impressed. You'd be proud of them."

"That's wonderful." Elsa finished drying her hair and started towards the bathroom to hang up the damp towel, "Hey, so I was thinking-" She stopped when she walked into the bathroom to find Hans' eyes closed, "Hans?"

"Hm?" He sleepily opened his eyes, "I'm sorry, were you talking to me?"

Elsa laughed, "Sort of, but it's not that important." She grabbed a stool and sat beside the bathtub, "You're pretty exhausted, aren't you?"

"Yeah, no, I'm fine." He sat up and splashed some water on his face, "Please continue."

"You know what? You've helped me out a lot with running Arendelle's military, why don't I do something nice for you?"

Hans lifted a naughty eyebrow, "I'm listening?"

"Close your eyes."

He did as he was told and in a matter of seconds he felt her fingers running through his hair. He instantly relaxed as she continued massaging her fingertips into his head, "What are you doing?"

"At the moment, I'm washing your hair."

"Oh." He let out a relaxed sigh, "You know I was expecting something else when you said that you wanted to do something nice for me."

"I know." Elsa smirked, "But I figured you needed this more." Once she finished washing his hair, she stood up, "You can wash the rest of yourself whenever you're done relaxing." She bent down and pressed her lips to his, "I'll be in the bedroom." She walked away with a smirk and even sashayed her hips a little bit before closing the bathroom door behind her.

She laid down on the bed and picked up a book as she waited for her husband, but she didn't need to wait long before he swaggered out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel around his waist, "I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long."

Elsa laughed, "I haven't even finished reading a page." She scooted over and patted the spot beside her, "Lay down here. On your stomach."

"Okay." He did what she asked, "What are you-oh!" He was surprised when he felt her climb on top of him and straddled his waist, followed by her delicate hands pressing into his back, "Ooohhh…that feels amazing."

Elsa proudly smiled, "Your muscles were so tight. I figured that this would help."

"Have I ever told you how much I love you?"

Elsa laughed as she continued massaging his back and shoulders. After a couple minutes, she could feel Hans' breathing grow steady so she figured he was asleep. After thirty minutes passed, Elsa was so lost in her own thoughts that the sound of Hans' voice startled her, "You certainly know how to welcome back a sailor, don't you? Almost flawless."

"Almost? I'm pretty sure I nailed the welcome home festivity."

"Well, you did forget one thing."

"And what would that be?"

Hans turned over so that he could face Elsa, "A sailor returning home from a long voyage-"

"I hardly think that a week out at sea counts as a 'long voyage'."

"When I stepped through those gates, you acted like I had been gone for months."

Elsa shrugged, "Fair point. Continue."

"A sailor returning home from a long voyage usually would appreciate the company of a beautiful woman." He smirked as he realized that Elsa was still straddling his waist, "Fortunately for me, I have the most beautiful woman in the entire world right here."

"Well, to be fair, you've had my company for the last hour."

"I think you understand what I am getting at."

"Not a clue." Elsa teasingly smiled.

Before responding, Hans swiftly untied Elsa robe, revealing her finest lingerie, "Really? Not a clue?" He smugly smirked.

"Well, okay, maybe I had an _idea_ but they're completely different-" She was interrupted when he promptly sat up and cut her off with a kiss. They don't know who made the next move, but before they knew it, their bodies were intertwined with one another as the teasing kisses turned passionate. With bated breath, Elsa smiled, "Welcome home, Admiral."

* * *

As evening was approaching, Hans and Elsa were getting dressed for dinner. Hans was almost done as he slipped on his boots while Elsa stood in front of the mirror trying to button up her dress, "Hans, when you're done could you help me?"

"Sure." Hans walked up behind her and started fastening the long row of buttons, "So I have a question for you."

"Okay?"

"And if it makes you uncomfortable you don't have to answer."

Elsa smirked, "Now I'm intrigued."

"The storm…"

"Yeah?" Elsa's smirked slowly faded away.

"Storms usually make you think about your parents."

Elsa nodded understandingly, "I see where this is going."

"You do?" Hans glanced up and looked at Elsa through the mirror.

"You're wondering why I was okay with you taking the fleet out in a storm eerily similar to the one that killed my parents."

"Well, yeah."

"The truth? I was not okay at all. Terrified, actually. But I wasn't going to let my fear stop you from doing what is best for our kingdom's navy." Elsa turned around and looked up at him with a sad smile, "I know that I'm a little slow at figuring this out, but I'm gradually trying to learn that I cannot let fear control my life."

"But you are trying and that's all that matters." He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead, "I'm so proud of you. And I know your parents would be proud of you too."

Elsa gave him a small smile despite her increased heartrate as she thought about her strange dream with her parents. Suddenly, another sharp pain struck her stomach as she gasped and recoiled from Hans' embrace, doubled over in pain.

"Elsa, what's wrong?"

"My stomach…" She placed a cold hand on her stomach and instantly felt most of the pain subside, "Okay, that's better."

"How long have you been having these pains?"

"This was only the second time." She straightened herself up, "I think it means I'm hungry."

"Hungry?"

"Yeah earlier today when I got these pains, I was late for lunch…which I never ate. Therefore this must mean that I'm hungry."

"Alright. I guess that makes sense." Hans glanced at the clock, "We'd better get to dinner before any more hunger pains start up."

"Yes, I agree." Elsa glanced over at the small old family portrait on her nightstand before making her way to the dining hall.

* * *

"So then one of the men slipped on a puddle and promptly fell on his rear. His expression was hysterical but I couldn't laugh in front of the young man so I had to take a short leave in my quarters to regain my composure."

Elsa laughed as Hans retold many interesting and hilarious stories about his time out at sea, "Was he okay? He wasn't hurt?"

"No, fortunately his pride was the only casualty." Hans took a sip of his water, "Although I did warn the men to tread lightly knowing that the deck would be slippery."

"I'm sure he'll bounce back. He seemed young enough-"

"Excuse me, Your Majesties?" Kai stuck his head into the dining hall.

Elsa waved him in, "What is it, Kai?"

"Princess Anna and Prince Kristoff have returned."

"What?" Elsa glanced outside to see the rain continuing to fall at a heavy pace, "How is that possible?"

"Would you like me to inform them that you and Prince Hans are still eating?"

"No thank you, Kai." Elsa stood up with a smile, "I wish to see my sister." Elsa hurried out of the dining hall with Hans following closely behind her. Just as the main landing came into view, Anna and Kristoff burst through the front door. "Anna!" Elsa cheered in delight as she broke into a run and ran into her sister's embrace.

"Elsa!" Anna laughed as she returned the hug, "You're so cuddly! I love this!"

"Oh goodness, Anna, you and Kristoff are soaked! Why did you come back? The weather is terrible."

"I wanted to make sure you were okay." Anna looked up and spotted Hans walking over to them, "What are you doing here?"

Hans gave her a confused look, "I live here?"

"Yeah but you're supposed to be gone."

"I'm sorry?"

"You should be." Anna crossed her arms, "How can you leave Elsa here all alone while she's sick?"

Now Hans gave Elsa a confused look, "You're sick?"

"What?" Elsa looked between Hans and Anna, "I'm not sick. Anna, where did you get that idea?"

"Olaf told us."

Elsa furrowed her brows, "I still don't understand how he could've gotten that idea. What exactly did he say?"

"He said that you have been taking a lot of naps because you have been awfully tired."

"Okay?"

"You hardly ever take naps unless something is wrong, so I thought-"

"Olaf also told us that we didn't need to worry." Kristoff shook his head with a sigh.

"No, no. Something is definitely up." Anna curiously eyed her sister, "So what is it?"

Elsa looked at Hans and smiled, "I guess we could tell them now since all the wedding festivities are over."

"It's your choice." Hans grinned as he reached for Elsa's hand.

"Well, now you have to tell us." Anna's eyes darted between Hans and Elsa, "What is it?"

"Okay, well…Anna?" Elsa excitedly squeezed Hans' hand, "I'm pregnant."

Kristoff's jawed dropped as Anna squealed, "Oh my gosh! Elsa! Are you serious?!"

"Shh!" Elsa laughed giddily, "You can't tell anyone because nobody else besides Kai and Gerda, and of course Doctor Omsorg, know about this."

"Why would you keep this a secret?!"

"Hans and I just want to keep this to ourselves for now. Besides it won't be long until I start showing so until then let's keep this quiet."

"Oh my gosh Elsa, I am so happy for you." Anna reached forward and tightly hugged her sister, "This is amazing news. Congratulations." As Anna pulled away from the hug, she wiped her eyes, "This is just so exciting. I'm gonna be an aunt." She laughed as she glanced at Hans, "Come here, you." Anna wrapped her arms around his midsection, "Congratulations, Hans."

"Thanks, Anna." He chuckled as he returned the hug.

Kristoff shyly smiled, "Congrats, Elsa." He awkwardly leaned forward and gave her a gentle hug, which made Elsa laugh.

"Kristoff, you are going to have to see me as more than just a queen. We're family now."

Anna laughed as she wrapped her hands around Kristoff's strong bicep, "Baby steps, Elsa. You still intimidate him."

Kristoff sighed, "Too much information, Anna." He extended his hand towards Hans, "By the way, congrats as well."

Hans smiled as they shook hands, "Thanks."

"So tell me the details! How many months along are you?"

"About three months."

"Three months?" Anna's eyes searched her sister, "You can't possibly be three months along. You're not even showing."

"Different women show at different times." Elsa shrugged with a smile.

"Oh my gosh I just realized something!" Anna covered her mouth with her hands, "You were pregnant at my wedding! That's why you didn't drink any alcohol! I thought it was weird but I forgot to ask you about it." Anna furrowed her brow, "Wait, so if you knew by my wedding, when did you find out?"

"Well, the doctor and I had our suspicions but he didn't confirm it a couple days before the wedding."

"W-wow." Anna involuntarily shivered as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"I'm sorry, you two must be freezing. I'll send someone to run a hot bath for you. In the meantime, let's have you two stand by the fire in the dining room and get you something to eat while we're at it."

Anna giggled, "Already working on your motherly duties, are we?"

"Well it's pretty easy to do when you insist on acting like a child at times." Elsa lightly teased as she led her sister towards the dining hall.

* * *

It was late in the evening when Thomas Sullivan looked up as his visitor approached his cell for the third time this week, "You're sure that everyone is in position?"

"Are you telling me how to do my job?"

"No of course not. It's just…" Thomas lowered his voice a little more, "The guards are starting to grow suspicious."

"I wouldn't worry about it. I've got a man on the inside."

"So when do you think you can get me out of here? I'm sick of this place."

"If you can't do the time, don't do the crime." The visitor chuckled, "Or at least don't get caught."

"I had no intention of getting caught. If it weren't for those royal brats-"

"You underestimated them. That was your mistake. But unlike you, I learn from the past." The visitor cleared their throat, "Trust me, we will not fail this time."

* * *

 **Hi! Please review! Thanks and have a good week! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi Everyone! I am so super duper sorry about this incredibly long hiatus! The past two months for me have been a whirlwind crazy time for me and my family. My dog had to be emitted to the hospital on the same day I had family come visit us from out of state and two days after that I started summer intersession at my university so I have literally been fighting complete exhaustion while inhaling caffeine. It was so bad that I couldn't see straight and actually got vertigo-like symptoms. But good news! My dog is healthy and back to normal and I successfully passed my class and I am feeling 100% better! Yay!**

 **However, I am not oblivious to the fact that I have been M.I.A. for several weeks and I am super grateful for your support and patience. You guys are all so wonderful and without you I probably would have given up. But please take comfort when I promise you that I will NOT give up on this story. It may be slow going but I will finish this trilogy. More good news, Chapter 4 is almost done as well and it should be up within 24 hours. So without further ado, please enjoy the next chapter and happy reading! :)**

 **Chapter 3**

A week had passed since Hans, Kristoff, and Anna all returned to Arendelle and the storm was slowly lightening up on the quaint kingdom. Elsa hadn't been feeling well due to the sharp pains in her stomach that would randomly come and go. However, she had been concealing her pain so no one knew about them since the initial two she experienced a week ago. Tired from another antagonizing long unrestful sleep, Elsa sat by the window and watched the sunrise through the dark clouds that still loomed over Arendelle. Behind her she could hear her husband stir awake, "Elsa? What are you doing?"

"Couldn't sleep…" She turned her head so she could look at Hans, "You're up awfully early."

"I'm a military man. I tend to wake at dawn." He slowly sat up and yawned, "You okay?"

"I'm fine." She smiled at his messy bed head, "Did you sleep well?"

"I did." He stood up and walked toward the window, "How's the weather?"

"It looks like the rain has finally stopped falling." She looked up at him, "Are you going to take the fleet out or just run drills?"

Hans peered through the window, "I think I might run drills today and perhaps take them out tomorrow."

"How long will you be gone this time?"

"Probably another week." He glanced down at her, "You sure you're feeling alright? Because I don't want Anna getting mad at me again."

Elsa laughed, "Yes, I'm fine."

"Okay." He bent down and gently kissed her, "I'm going to get ready."

Elsa silently nodded as he walked into the bathroom and closed the door. Elsa sighed as she turned her attention back toward the window. Her mind raced as she thought back to that nightmare she had a week ago. Thinking about her late-parents taking her firstborn away from her made chills run down her spine.

" _Oh Elsa…I am so sorry. So very sorry. But it's time to say goodbye to Benjamin."_

" _What's going on?! Give me back my baby!"_

" _We promise to take care of him."_

" _What?! No! No! Stop!"_

" _He'll be waiting for you, just like your mother and I are waiting for you and Anna."_

" _Anna, do something!"_

" _Elsa, I'm sorry but you are going to have to let Ben go. This is not the right time, this is not your time."_

" _No, please, we've worked so hard to have this baby. You can't just take him away!"_

" _Goodbye, Ben. I'll see you again soon."_

" _No, stop! Please!"_

"Stop!" Elsa gasped as another sharp pain stabbed her stomach. She did her usual relief method by placing a cold hand on her stomach but this time it didn't relieve any pain, it worsened it. "Hans…" She gasped as she tried to stand, "Hans…" She collapsed onto the floor as the pain intensified. She frantically looked around the room to find something that would get Hans' attention until her eyes landed on the full body-length mirror. With desperation guiding her, she shot an icicle at the mirror and the loud crash of shattering glass filled the room.

Almost immediately, the bathroom door opened and Hans ran out, "Elsa?!" His eyes fell to his wife lying on the floor and he knelt down beside her, "Elsa! What happened?!"

"My stomach…" She groaned.

"I'm going to get the doctor." He stood up and headed for the door.

"No! Don't leave!" She struggled to get up.

"Elsa, stop. Don't move." He ran back over to her.

"I need you to take me to the doctor." She glanced down and noticed some blood on the floor, "You need to take me to the doctor _now_."

Hans scooped her up bridal style and noticed the blood too, "Oh my-what's happening?!"

Elsa rested her head against his strong chest, "Please hurry."

Hans hurried out of the room and ran through the vacant hallways to the doctor's quarters which was also connected to his office, "Doctor Omsorg!" Hans knocked with his foot, "Doctor Omsorg!"

The door flew open and Doctor Omsorg, still in his sleepwear, quickly ushered them inside, "What's going on?" He took one glance at Elsa and quickly ran to get some medical supplies, "Place her on the observation table." Hans gently placed Elsa down as the doctor returned with a tray full of instruments, "What happened?"

"I don't know. I heard glass shatter and ran out of the bathroom to find her lying on the floor bleeding."

"Did you cut yourself on the glass, Your Majesty?"

"No…" She groaned, "It was my stomach."

"Was it a sharp pain?"

"Yes."

"Hmm…" The doctor gently pressed his fingertips into her stomach and lightly felt around, "Mhmm…" He took a look underneath Elsa's nightgown and noticed the bleeding, "Okay, I see what's going on."

"Is she going to be okay?"

"Queen Elsa will be just fine. But I will need to run some tests and keep her under observation for the day."

"Tests?" Hans ushered the doctor away until they were out of earshot from Elsa, "What's going on? What happened?"

"Prince Hans, I make it a policy to not make a diagnosis until I can fully support it. I do not wish to give you false hope or false heartache. So you must be patient and I will have to ask you to leave while I proceed with my tests."

"But…" Hans anxiously ran a hand through his hair as he glanced over at Elsa, "Just take care of her."

"Of course."

Before Hans could say another word, he found himself standing in the hallway with a closed door in his face. After a couple minutes of slowly processing what happened, he heard a small voice come up behind him, "Hans?"

He turned around to find two familiar faces, "Annaliese…" He smiled at his nephew, "Hey, Henry."

Henry grinned as Annaliese curiously looked between him and the doctor's door, "Is everything alright?"

"Everything is fine." He tiredly rubbed his face, "How are you feeling by the way? I heard you had the stomach flu?"

"Oh yeah, that was an ugly little episode." She lightly laughed as she adjusted Henry on her hip, "But I'm fine now. I'm so grateful for everyone who helped out. Speaking of which, I haven't had the chance to thank Elsa for helping out with Henry. I know that babysitting isn't exactly a part of the job description for a queen but I really appreciate her taking time out of her busy schedule."

"Trust me, it was no burden at all. She loves spending time with Henry." Hans chuckled as Henry perked up at hearing his name.

"I'm glad. I didn't want it to seem like I was imposing in any way. But if you do see her before me-" She playfully slapped her forehead, "What am I thinking? Of course you're more likely to see her before me. But when you do, could you thank her for me?"

"Of course."

"Thanks. Now I've got to get this little guy fed before I fall too far behind schedule. See you around." She hurried away while Henry waved over her shoulder.

"Prince Hans?"

He turned around to find William standing behind him, "William."

"Is everything alright?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?"

"Well, because you're running late and you're never late for morning drills."

"Morning drills? Oh!" Hans mentally slapped himself, "Dang it, I lost track of time. Have Captain Sterk start without me. I'll be there within the hour."

"Yes, sir." William respectfully bowed before heading down the hallway.

Hans pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head, "Pull yourself together. She's going to be fine and I've got a job to do." He glanced at the doctor's door one last time before heading to the kitchen to grab a quick breakfast.

* * *

"Thomas Sullivan?"

The prisoner looked up when the guard unlocked the door and stepped inside, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to deliver your breakfast."

"Where's the other guard? He usually brings me my meals."

"They sent me this time. Sorry to disappoint." He placed the tray on the floor and stepped out, "I'll be back in ten to pick up the tray."

Once the guard locked the door and walked away, Thomas wandered over to the tray and noticed the letter V written in his beans. He curiously picked through his meal until he found a small envelope buried at the bottom of the bowl of beans. With a quick wipe of his sleeve, he cleaned up the envelope well enough to open it and pull out a short note:

 _Phase 1 complete. Phase 2 is a go. Standby for further instruction._

A small smile spread across his lips, "It has begun."

* * *

"How are you feeling now?" The doctor sat beside the small bed that Elsa had been resting on for most of the day.

"I'm fine."

"Any more pain since this morning?"

"No." Elsa blinked her eyes a couple more times, "Where's Hans?"

"I sent him away. He was added stress that you didn't need at the moment." The doctor looked at the clock, "But it's getting close to dinner so he should be back at any time."

"How about Anna?"

"I asked Gerda about the whereabouts of the Princess and she said that Princess Anna and Prince Kristoff went up the North Mountain to bring back their belongings from their honeymoon. But they should be back at any time as well."

"Oh…alright." Elsa slowly sat up, "Do you know how much longer I'm going to have these stomach pains?"

"You shouldn't be experiencing any more at this point."

"Well, that's good news." Elsa smiled, "So I'm going to be alright?"

"Umm…I'm not sure about that."

Elsa's smile quickly faded, "What do you mean by that?"

"Queen Elsa, these pains you've been having were not solely an issue with just you." The doctor sighed, "They had to do with the baby."

"The baby?"

"Elsa…" Doctor Omsorg took off his glasses and gently grasped her hands, "The baby is gone."

Elsa could feel her heart drop into her stomach, "W-what do you mean?"

"I'm so sorry, Your Majesty, but it seems that you've had a miscarriage."

"I-No…" Elsa defiantly shook her head, "No that can't happen. I-I can't lose the baby." Tears started to fill her eyes, "Tell me there's still a chance that the baby could still be in there."

"If it were just the stomach pains, then I could say that there was a slim chance but…" He looked down at her hands in his, "The blood was coming from where the baby was. That's a pretty sure sign that he or she is gone."

"This isn't real. How can I pregnant one day then not the next?"

"Your Majesty, miscarriages are unfortunately quite common."

Elsa could slowly feel a swell of uncontrollable emotion and guilt rising, "Is it my fault? Did I do something wrong?"

"No, absolutely not. Most of the time the cause is unrelated to the mother especially when the mother is in good shape such as yourself."

Elsa quietly hung her head as her tears started to fall, "Did my powers have something to do with it?"

The doctor's eyes widened, "Um, I actually haven't given that angle much thought-"

"Be honest with me, Doctor." Elsa looked him in the eye, "Did my powers have something, _anything_ , to do with this?"

"I-I suppose it could have had an impact on your immune system responses therefore consequently causing the miscarriage but the chances of that happening are incredibly slim."

Elsa could feel herself losing control of her emotions, "You need to go." Ice slowly began to creep up the walls as the temperature in the room dropped, "You need to get out of here _now_."

The doctor let go of her hands as he stood up and made his way to the door which connected to his office, "I know this isn't a good time, Your Majesty, but do you wish to tell Prince Hans or would you like me to do it."

"I don't care! Just go! I can't afford to kill anyone else today!"

The doctor regretfully did as she demanded, closing the door behind him as he left. In a matter of moments the door froze over, promptly locking Elsa inside and more significantly, locking everyone else out.

* * *

"Check it out." Anna pointed towards the clock tower in the center of town, "We'll actually make it to dinner on time. And you didn't think we were going to make it."

"I was being realistic considering how long it took you to pack up your things even though you told me that you already had everything packed before we left the first time around."

"Oh complain, complain. You know, we could have been early if it weren't for you wanting to relive…what did you called it? Your favorite part of our honeymoon?"

"Hey, you were pretty on board with the idea too so don't pretend you didn't enjoy it."

Anna laughed, "Yeah, you got me on that one." She bumped her hip against his, "I did enjoy it." She grabbed his hand and looped his arm around her shoulders, "But in all honesty, I'm just glad it finally stopped raining. This summer has literally been the worst, weather wise I mean. You know, after the eternal blizzard of course because that obviously takes the cake. Hey!" Anna pointed to someone ahead of them, "I think that's Hans! Hey, Hans!"

Hans turned around when he heard his name and smiled when he saw Anna exuberantly waving her arm around. He stopped walking so they could catch up to him, "Hey guys…" He noticed Sven walking beside them with suitcases loaded on each side of him, "Going somewhere?"

"More like coming back from our honeymoon for a second time." Anna giggled, "Huh, I bet no one else has ever said that before."

"So you've been out of the castle all day then?"

"Well, yeah. It takes a while to get up that mountain."

Although Anna might have been oblivious to Hans' strange question, Kristoff was not, "Everything alright, Hans? You seem a little worried."

"I'm just concerned." He lowered his voice as they continued through town, "Elsa wasn't feeling well this morning so I took her to Doctor Omsorg."

Anna calmly smiled, "Was it morning sickness because that's super common for pregnant women."

"Uh…" Hans remembered the blood, "Not exactly. The doctor said that she would be fine but I'm still a little anxious to hear the results."

Kristoff furrowed his brow, "Results? That means he had been running tests on her, which is kind of serious. You're sure it's just a pregnancy symptom?"

"Honestly? I have no idea what's happening."

Anna quickened her pace, "Then we better get back to the castle as quickly as possible."

A couple minutes later the trio crossed into the courtyard and Hans headed directly into the castle as Anna and Kristoff headed toward the stables with Sven and their baggage. Trying not to seem too anxious, Hans tried to walk at a steady pace through the castle corridors until he turned the final corner. "Doctor?" Hans froze when he saw Doctor Omsorg sitting outside in the hallway with his head resting in his hands, "Doctor, what's wrong? What's happened?"

The doctor looked up at Hans as he slowly approached, "Prince Hans, I have some bad news."

Hans' heart stopped, "Oh God, Elsa isn't-"

"She's alright given the circumstance."

"The circumstance?"

The doctor sighed as he stood up and looked Hans in the eye, "Your Majesty, I am sorry to inform you that Queen Elsa…" He nervously cleared his throat, "She has lost the baby."

Hans staggered back as if the rug had just been pulled out from under him, leaving him stunned in silence. He let out a long sigh as he rubbed his face, "Oh my-wow, okay, uh…does Elsa know?"

"Yes."

"How is she?"

"She's inside the recovery room. Locked herself in there is more like it."

"Oh no, not again."

As Hans pushed past the doctor, he grabbed Hans' arm, "Prince Hans I must warn you. Queen Elsa is blaming herself for this. She thinks her powers had something to do with this-"

"Do they?"

"The chances of that being true are very slim. But if they were..."

"What?"

The doctor took off his glasses, "If her powers were the cause, then that means she could never have children. It is possible that her internal body temperature may be _too_ cold to nurture a baby."

Hans pinched the bridge of his nose, "Does Elsa know about _that_?"

"No. I figured it was best to withhold that information."

"Alright. I need to go check on her." Hans patted the doctor on the shoulder before walking inside. He headed straight to the recovery room with ice covering the door. "Elsa?" He placed a hand on the ice covered door, "The doctor told me everything. I am so sorry." He could hear her crying inside which only made his heart ache more, "Sweetheart, please let me in."

"Go away. It's not safe for you to be around me."

"I don't care. I just-" He swallowed back his tears, "I just need to see you."

To his surprise, the ice around the door handle began to thaw. After a couple moments, Hans was able to pry the door open and step inside the frozen recovery room, "Elsa?"

"I'm here."

Hans turned his head to find Elsa curled up against the wall behind the door, "Oh Elsa…" He knelt down beside her and gently cupped her tear stained cheek, "I am so sorry for your loss."

"I'm sorry for _our_ loss." She squeezed her eyes shut as the tears started to flow again, "I'm sorry to have let you down. You were so excited to be a father and I-"

"Nonsense. This wasn't your fault." He sat down beside her and wrapped an arm around her, taking ahold one of her hands, "We're going to get through this. Trust me."

He paused when Elsa rested her head on his shoulder and buried her face into his chest, "Maybe I'm not meant to be a mother."

"No, Elsa. You deserve happiness just as much as any other person. Believe me, this is not how your story will end. We'll keep trying and I promise you that one day you'll be holding you own little bundle of joy in your arms." He gently combed his fingers through her hair, "Remember that in life, we are not given things that we cannot handle. And you are an incredibly strong woman. So it may take a long time-months, years even-but we will get through this and we will have a child of our own."

Footsteps were heard coming towards them, followed by Anna and Kristoff poking their heads into the room, "Elsa?" Anna's voice was barely above a whisper when she spotted Hans and Elsa sitting on the floor together, "We just spoke with the doctor. I'm sorry for your loss. I know how excited you both were and I can't imagine what you must be going through right now." She sat on the other side of Elsa and linked her arm with her sister and then gently rested her head on her sister's shoulder, "Whatever you need. I'll be here for you."

Kristoff knelt down in front of Elsa and took her small delicate hand into his large strong one, giving it a gentle squeeze, "Me too."

* * *

 **Next chapter should be up within 24 hours. Please review and thanks again for your patience.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ta-da! The next chapter is up within my 24 hour deadline as promised! Thanks for the support and reviews! Enjoy the next chapter and Happy Reading! :)**

 **Chapter 4**

A few days passed since the heartbreaking news and the overall atmosphere in the castle was still greatly filled with sorrow. Elsa had hardly ate, slept, or even left her room for the past few days. The few people who knew what had happened told everyone else that Elsa was just sick and Hans also cancelled his plans to take the fleet out. To add to the sorrowful mood, the rain had returned although it wasn't nearly as bad as the previous storm, just a light delicate rainfall.

Elsa sat at her usual spot by the window, watching the raindrops slide down the window and occasionally frowning at her reflection. _You can't do anything right, can you? You can't give the kingdom you love an heir. You can't even give the man you love a child. There's always a catch with you, isn't there?_ Elsa froze the window with disgust and self-hatred. She stood up and started pacing the room, eventually catching a glance at her nightstand where the small old family portrait stood. "You!" She walked over to the portrait and picked it up, "That's what my dream meant! You knew! You took my baby away from me!" In her rage, she threw the portrait across the room, "You took away my Benjamin!"

"Elsa?" Anna knocked on the door while opening it, "What's going on?"

"They took away my baby and you let them!"

"What are you talking about?" Anna looked toward the door and nodded to Kristoff, who was standing in the hall, signaling him to go get Hans.

"My dream…" Elsa sunk to the floor, falling onto her knees, "It wasn't just a dream."

Anna sat down beside her and gently rubbed her back, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I…" Elsa could feel her heartrate increase and the room suddenly started to feel small and the air felt thick, "I can't breathe." She quickly got to her feet and headed for the door, "I need to get out of here." She desperately ran through the castle halls, completely unaware of the worried glances from her staff. Finally she burst through the doors that led to the garden and breathed a sigh of relief as the light rainfall washed over her frazzled nerves. Elsa tried to slow down her breathing as she glanced up and let the rain wash her face.

" _Mama?"_

Elsa looked down and saw a young boy with ice-blue eyes and dark red hair looking up at her, "Ben?"

" _What are you doing, Mama?"_ The young boy began hopping up and down, _"Come on!"_ He grabbed her hand and started to drag her up a narrow pathway.

"Where are we going?"

" _It's a surprise!"_ The boy giggled, _"Come on, Mama!"_

* * *

"Hans! Hans!"

Hans, who was standing at the edge of the dock watching his crew run through their exercises out in the fjord, turned around, "Kristoff?" Seeing his panicked expression worried him, "What's wrong?"

"Elsa…" Kristoff tried to catch his breath, "She's kinda starting to lose control…she's yelling and throwing things."

"Oh-no." Hans started toward the castle, "Is Anna with her?"

"Yeah, she's trying to calm her down."

"Good. I knew this miscarriage was tearing Elsa apart but for the most part she's been pretty calm about this. It was only a matter of time before she couldn't conceal it anymore."

As they quickly took a less crowded route back to the castle, Kristoff anxiously cleared his throat, "So how are you doing with all of this? I know this can't be easy for you, yet you still insist on going on with your duties like nothing ever happened."

Hans quickly glanced over at Kristoff, "I know it may seem like I was unaffected, but trust me I was pretty shaken up when Doctor Omsorg told me the news. However, seeing Elsa go through the emotional wreckage has made me realize that I need to be her strength right now. As for attending to my duties, I am Elsa's King Consort which means that in the event that she cannot attend to her obligations, it is my responsibility to carry on in her absence." He let out a heavy sigh, "Despite my feelings."

Kristoff placed a firm hand on Hans' shoulder, "I truly am sorry about this, Hans. I wouldn't wish this on anyone."

Hans gave him a sad smile in return, "Thanks, Kristoff." As they hurried into the castle courtyard, they found Anna running toward them, "Anna, where's Elsa?!"

"I don't know…" Anna's eyes were wide with worry, "She was yelling something about someone named Benjamin and then she said someone took her baby and that I let them. Then she said something about her dream not being just a dream and then she ran out of the room saying that she couldn't breathe and she needed to get out of here." A shiver ran up her spine, "I've never seen her like this. This is worse than the night of her coronation."

Hans anxiously rubbed his face, "Well, she didn't go through town so she must have gone out somewhere through the gardens."

"I've already checked her favorite hiding spots within the castle grounds but I couldn't find her. Is there somewhere special that she could have gone? Somewhere that holds any kind of significance connected to the baby?"

Hans hurried into the castle, "There may be a spot." Leaving Anna and Kristoff behind, he ran through the castle, through the garden, past the small gate that led to the rolling hills of wild crocus flowers that stretched behind the castle, and finally reached the spot where Hans proposed to Elsa, the same spot where she told him she was pregnant. "Elsa?!" He shouted her name and looked around, but he couldn't find her anywhere. "I was sure this is where she would be." Letting out a tired breath, he jogged back to the castle.

* * *

"She said that someone took her baby?" Kristoff and Anna stood in Elsa's bedroom and examined the light coating of frost that covered the window.

"Yeah…" Anna sighed as she plopped onto the seat by the window, "And apparently I let them, which is ridiculous because I would never let that happen."

"But you also said that she mentioned it was a dream."

"Still, the fact that she dreamed something that horrible is kinda disturbing." Anna watched Kristoff wander around the room, "You know what would be really horrible though?"

"Hm?"

"If, um, _I_ were pregnant."

Kristoff chuckled, "Yeah, that would be horrible timing-" He jerked his head around to look at her, "Anna, please don't tell me you're pregnant."

Anna nervously bit her fingernail, "I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"I've been a little late on my ladies things and I've been feeling gross in the morning-"

"Oh God…" Kristoff ran his hands over his face and shook his head, "How is this even possible? We've only been married for a month!"

"Please, it's been over a month-"

"A month and like ten days? Close enough."

Anna pouted, "You could be a little more supportive about this."

Kristoff crouched down in front of Anna's seat, "Anna, this is literally the worst time to get pregnant."

"Well, it's not my fault! It takes two to make a baby!" Anna closed her eyes and tilted her head back, "But I know what you mean, I'm really hoping this is a false alarm. I'm going to see the doctor tomorrow in hopes that he can clear things up." Anna opened her eyes and looked down at Kristoff, "But we're not going to tell anyone about this, right?"

"Well, I'm certainly not going to tell anyone."

"Me neither-"

"I couldn't find her-" Hans paused when he saw Kristoff crouched down in front of Anna, "Is everything okay?"

Kristoff stood up with a sigh, "Yeah, we were just trying to find any clues that could help us pinpoint Elsa's location."

"Did you find anything?" Hans hopefully raised his eyebrows.

"Yes!" Anna bolted out of the seat and headed toward a corner, "Look!" She picked up the old family portrait with a now broken frame, "Elsa usually keeps this on her nightstand and look at the frame." Anna glanced over at the nightstand which stood across the room from where she was standing, "I bet this is what Elsa threw before I came in."

"The question is, why?"

"That doesn't matter." Anna tightly grasped the portrait in her hands, "I think I know where Elsa is."

* * *

"So you are Benjamin, right? _My_ Benjamin?" Elsa followed the little boy leading her up a narrow trail.

" _Yeah! That's a funny thing to ask."_ To prove his point the boy let out a small giggle, _"Are you okay, Mama?"_

"I'm honestly not sure-" Elsa paused when they reached their destination, "Why did you take me here?"

The two stopped in front of the late King and Queen's memorial site that stood at the edge of a tall bluff overlooking the ocean. The little boy took Elsa's hand and led her closer to the two stones before having her sit down between them, _"Are you mad at Grandpa and Grandma?"_

"What? Of course not."

" _Then why did you yell at them and throw their picture?"_ He climbed into her lap and looked up at her with sad eyes, _"You seemed mad."_

"I was more sad than angry."

" _Why were you sad?"_

Elsa looked down at the little boy sitting in her lap, "Because something, _someone,_ very precious to me was taken away from me."

The boy looked over at the memorial and then back at Elsa, _"They were sad about it too but it had to happen."_

"Had to?"

" _They said that something big is coming and now was not a good time to have a baby. You need to place all of your heart and energy into what's going to happen. There will be no room for any sort of distractions."_

"What's coming? What's going to happen?"

" _I don't know, they didn't tell me."_ The boy wrapped his arms around her neck and gave her a warm hug, _"But they are taking really good care of me, Mama. And they love you and Auntie Anna a lot and they are always watching over you. As am I."_ The boy let go and stood up, _"I love you, Mama. You would have been the best mommy ever."_

He started walking towards the edge of the bluff, _"Tell Papa that I love him too."_

"Okay…" Tears stung Elsa's eyes as she watched him wave his little hand goodbye before disappearing into the fog that was rolling in, "Goodbye, Ben."

* * *

"Elsa!" Anna yelled as she scurried up the narrow path with Hans and Kristoff right behind her, "ELSA!" They reached the top but a thick fog had rolled in from the sea, making it hard to see their surroundings, "She's got to be here. I just know it."

"Well, we'd better be careful." Hans cautiously stepped forward, "With this fog, it would be very easy to accidentally step off the edge."

"We should hold on to each other, that way if one of us should accidentally step off then the other two can pull them back up." Anna grabbed Kristoff's hand, "I'll lead."

"No, no, no." Hans rushed to the other side of Anna and took her other hand, " _I'll_ lead."

"Why should you lead? She's _my_ sister."

"Well, she's _my_ wife and this is about _our_ baby."

Anna's face softened, "Fine. You lead."

Hans slowly ventured further into the fog trying to get a grasp on his surroundings, "Elsa?" He slightly quickened his pace as a dark object came into view, "Elsa…" He reached his hand out, only to find that the dark object was the late Queen's memorial stone, "Anna, I don't think she's here."

"Keep looking. We need to find her."

Hans squinted harder into the fog, "Wait a second…" He let go of Anna's hand as he quickly disappeared into the fog.

"What are you-Hans!" Anna yelled after him.

"Stay there!" Hans yelled back. He eventually slowed his steps as he approached another dark figure sitting on the ground, "Elsa?" A wave of relief washed over him as the figure turned around.

"Hans?" Elsa didn't move from her spot as she extended a hand, "Don't come any closer."

"Elsa, you don't need to be afraid." He took another step forward

"Seriously, Hans. Stop walking."

"I know you won't hurt me." He inched even closer to her.

"Stop!" Elsa shot an icy blast at his feet, causing him to freeze where he stood which turned out to be the edge of the bluff. Elsa let out a sigh of relief, "That was close." Slight frustration showed on her face, "Why didn't you listen to me?"

"To be honest I thought you were reverting back to the old Elsa. How was I supposed to know that you were sitting at the very edge of the bluff?" He looked down at his feet frozen to the ground, "Can you undo this, please? It's rather cold."

"Fine…" A small smile spread across her lips as she waved her hand and the ice magically disappeared, "But I'm not going to apologize for doing this."

"Wait a second…" Hans shook his feet out before crouching down beside her, "You're bantering _and_ smiling? You must be feeling better. What happened?"

Elsa turned back to the water, "I received some more insight upon what's recently happened. And now I know the truth."

"The truth?" Hans nervously swallowed as he remembered Doctor Omsorg telling him that there was a small chance that Elsa could be infertile. He was worried that the doctor actually told her his theory.

"I-I mean- _we_ can't afford to have a baby right now. There's something coming. Something big. And we need to be in top shape with no distractions."

"Hold on…what?" Hans shook his head, "Elsa, you're speaking in tongues."

"You don't need to understand, you just need to trust me."

"Elsa, what's going on?"

"Elsa!"

Elsa quickly got to her feet as Anna and Kristoff came into sight, "Anna? What are you guys doing here?"

"What do you think? We're looking for you!" Anna threw her arms around her sister, "Don't you ever scare me like that again!"

"I'm sorry, I was having an anxiety attack and I needed to get away. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt you again."

"It's okay, you won't hurt me."

"How do you know?"

"I just know these things." Anna pulled away from the hug to look at her sister, "So, how are we feeling?"

"Better."

"That's good! We should go eat some dinner first, then drink some chocolate espressos afterwards to help cheer you up. I smelled Gerda making some when I was searching for you in the kitchen."

Elsa smirked, "You were searching for me in the kitchen?"

"Hey, in my defense, you had hardly eaten in days and I thought that maybe you got hungry and decided to grab a snack in the kitchen."

"Well, you're right. I am starving. Let's go get something to eat." Elsa linked arms with Anna as they headed back towards the castle.

Once they disappeared into the fog, Kristoff slapped Hans on the back of the head, "Ow! What was that for?!"

"For running off into the fog after lecturing Anna and I about staying together. You scared us."

Hans smirked, " _Us_?"

"By 'us' I mean Anna, you should know that by now." Kristoff started back to the castle with Hans following behind him, "And why was it so important for you to lead if you were just going to run off like that?"

"You want the truth?"

"Enlighten me, please."

"I just didn't want to hold your hand." Hans chuckled as he walked past Kristoff.

* * *

"So all of sudden we hear someone knocking at the door and I'm freaking out because Kristoff told me that the cabin's location was a secret. Therefore whoever was at the door was surely an intruder or something."

"Wait, you thought an intruder would _knock_?" Hans laughed as he sat next to Elsa on the parlor sofa with his arm around her waist.

"I-well-now that I think about it, I guess they wouldn't knock. But I wasn't thinking clearly at the time."

"Here we go…" Gerda entered the parlor with a tray of chocolate espressos, "I even made some whipped cream and added chocolate slivers on top."

"Thank you, Gerda. You're the best." Anna licked her lips in excitement.

"My pleasure, Your Highness." She straightened herself up with a smile, "Let me know if you need anything else." With a quick bow she left the parlor.

"So where was I?"

"The world's most polite intruder _knocking_ at your door?" Elsa smiled as she rested her head against Hans' chest.

"Yes! Thank you, although I could do without all the sarcasm."

As Anna brought the mug to her lips, Kristoff cleared his throat, "Anna, are you sure you should be drinking something with so much caffeine in it?"

"What? Why?"

He casually wrapped an arm around her waist, "Remember how you couldn't sleep last night? You were quite restless, if I recall." As he said that last part, he strummed his fingers against her stomach causing her to remember her unknown possible pregnancy.

"Oh yeah…" She put the mug back onto the tray, "Darn it. I was really looking forward to drinking this too."

"You've had trouble sleeping?" Elsa sat up with a concerned look on her face.

"Well, yeah, can you blame me? I've been so worried about you!" Anna giggled as she reached forward and squeezed Elsa's hand, "I'm happy that you're starting to bounce back. I mean, you should definitely take your time going through the grieving process but it's nice to see you eating again."

"I would be lying if I said that I was doing fine, but I am doing better and that feels good for the moment." Elsa gave her sister a tired smile as the clock struck eleven, "However it is getting late and I am in desperate need of a good night's sleep." She stood up and hugged Anna goodnight. She also said goodnight to Kristoff before grabbing her mug and leaving the parlor with Hans following close behind her. The couple silently walked side by side through the empty halls and they didn't mutter a word to each other until after they changed into their sleepwear.

Elsa climbed into bed as her husband was taking out his clothes for the next day, "Hans?"

"Yes?"

"Do you believe in ghosts?"

Hans stopped what he was doing and looked at her, "No. Why?"

"No reason." Elsa brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs, "So you don't believe in any supernatural occurrences?"

"I didn't say that." He placed his boots beside his wardrobe and then climbed into bed beside Elsa, "I do believe in guardian angels."

"You do?"

"Of course." He shyly smiled as he blew out the candle and then faced his wife, "When I was little and shortly after I thought my mother had died, I experienced visions in my dreams about finding her and reuniting with her, but I always assumed that I would reunite with her once I died. Of course I was completely unaware that she was alive and that I would actually get the chance to be reunited with her in this lifetime."

Elsa matched his small smile, "I didn't know any of that. Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"We've never divulged into stuff like this before."

"Have you had any other vision-like dreams?"

"Yes, quite a few actually."

"Any about me?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"Yes, I'm curious."

"Okay, well, there's one that really stands out to me. Remember when we travelled to Sperca?"

"How could I forget? That journey changed our lives."

"Well, after we met Eir and she kicked us out of her house because she sensed trouble we ran through the woods for several miles in the middle of the night. As you may recall, we eventually found a place to rest and you insisted that I sleep while you took the first watch."

"Yes, I remember being mad at you about what had just happened during my coronation and the events following it." Her face hardened slightly as she spoke about that majorly touchy sore spot in their past but her face softened when she gazed upon his pained expression, "But I also remember you waking up quite startled and alarmed." Then it clicked for her, "That was when you had your vision?"

"That dream I had prepared me for when we were confronted by Kendrick's guards. In my dream, that last guard hiding in the woods actually shot you with his crossbow and well…" He anxiously closed his eyes and let out a deep breath, "You died in my arms telling me to make sure I brought the antidote back to Kristoff, and to tell Anna that you were sorry you didn't make it back, and to tell Anna and Kristoff that you approved of their marriage." He shuddered as he opened his eyes again, "I can still see it as clear as I now see you."

"Oh Hans, that must have been terrible."

"It was, which surprised me as to how I could care so much for a woman I hardly knew at the time." Hans took her hand and let their fingers intertwine with one another, "But I am forever grateful for that nightmare because it provided me with the advantage of knowing what to expect and that's why-"

"You pushed me out of the way when the last guard fired his crossbow." She let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding, "This makes so much sense now." She looked up at him with wide eyes, "And you knew you were going to die during the attack on the palace?"

"In a way, yes. It wasn't as clear cut as the other vision but I could put the pieces together as the event was unfolding. But I didn't have any intuition about Annaliese reviving me. That was unexpected. Oh speaking of which…" He suddenly paused.

"What?"

"Never mind."

"No, you can't do that, you have to tell me now."

"It's probably for the best that I don't bring this up."

"What? Did you and her sleep together before you returned to Arendelle?"

"What?! No!" Hans couldn't help but chuckle, "This is something more recent."

"Does it have to do with Henry?"

Hans hesitated, "…yes. Annaliese wanted to thank you for your help watching Henry while she was sick."

A lump caught in Elsa's throat as she remembered the time she spent alone with Henry, back when she was still pregnant. Hans could clearly see that she was upset about the mention of his nephew, knowing that it triggered thoughts about the miscarriage, "See this is why I didn't want to say anything. I didn't want to upset you."

"No, it's fine. I need to be able to talk about things like this without becoming an emotional wreck." She let out a long shallow breath followed by a sad smile, "See? I'm doing better already."

"Elsa…" He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and brought her closer to him while continuing to hold her hand, "You can cry if you want."

"I'm going to be fine. Really." She rested her head on his chest and although she didn't make a sound, Hans could still feel her tears through his shirt. He didn't move or say a word until he finally heard her breathing even out. Once he knew she was asleep he glanced down to take a look at her sleeping face. Seeing her tear stained cheeks made his heart ache. He wished there was something he could do to make all this pain go away. He hated feeling powerless, yet there was nothing he could do. So with a gentle kiss to the top of her head, he closed his eyes and tried to get a decent night's sleep.

* * *

 _KNOCK KNOCK…KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK…BANG BANG!_

"What?!" Hans and Elsa startled awake.

Hans irritably rubbed his eyes, "Who's banging on our door at this ungodly hour?!"

"Your Majesties, there is an urgent matter that requires you attention!"

Hans and Elsa shared a worried glance before Hans jumped out of bed and ran to go open the door, "Kai? What's wrong?"

"My apologies for the disturbance, but we have a visitor from the Southern Isles."

Hans audibly groaned, "Tell my father that whatever it is, it can wait until morning-"

"It's not your father, Your Majesty, it's _about_ your father."

* * *

 **We are starting to get into the thick of the story so stay tuned! Thanks for reading and please review, I really take your comments into consideration when approaching the next chapter. Take care and have a great weekend! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi Everyone! I hope you all are doing well! Thank you for all the support and reviews, I loving reading your thoughts on the story. I hope you enjoy the next chapter! Happy Reading :)**

 **Previously...**

 _KNOCK KNOCK…KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK…BANG BANG!_

"What?!" Hans and Elsa startled awake.

Hans irritably rubbed his eyes, "Who's banging on our door at this ungodly hour?!"

"Your Majesties, there is an urgent matter that requires you attention!"

Hans and Elsa shared a worried glance before Hans jumped out of bed and ran to go open the door, "Kai? What's wrong?"

"My apologies for the disturbance, but we have a visitor from the Southern Isles."

Hans audibly groaned, "Tell my father that whatever it is, it can wait until morning-"

"It's not your father, Your Majesty, it's _about_ your father."

 **Chapter 5**

"What's happened to my father?"

"Prince Klaus wouldn't say-"

"Klaus is here?!"

"Yes, he's waiting to speak with you in your study. He also said the presence of the Queen would not be necessary if it were a burden."

"It's not a burden, it is a necessity, and I'm coming." Elsa appeared beside Hans as if by magic.

Hans glanced at her nightgown, "Elsa, you're hardly dressed-"

She swiftly waved her hand and in an instant, she donned her signature ice dress, "I'm ready. Let's go."

"Well now I feel underdressed. Just give me a minute." Hans rushed to the clothes he had set out and quickly got dressed behind the changing screen in about a minute. He jogged over toward Kai and Elsa, "Alright, let's go."

"That was fast."

The three of them started down the hallway as Hans chuckled, "When you're out at sea and your ship gets attacked in the middle of the night, it pays to get dressed in a timely manner."

Elsa shook her head, "There's still so much I don't know about you." As they neared Hans' study which was just down the hall from Elsa's, Elsa anxiously bit her lip, "So Klaus is you eldest brother, correct?"

"Yes. He's the heir to the Southern Isles throne. He's also my father's favorite."

Kai opened the door for Elsa and Hans as they entered the study. Standing in the middle of the room with his hands tightly clasped behind his back in a military-like stature stood a man that looked like the spitting image of a younger version of King Richard. He was very tall, about 6'2 with broad shoulders and a strong back and as he turned around Elsa could see those hypnotic green eyes that her husband also possessed. His hair was a couple tints darker than Hans' with neatly combed wavy locks that were separated down the middle of his head and a full beard that gave him an air of authority. Elsa could see how such a man could seem intimidating to others and how that probably helped gain King Richard's favor.

The prince politely smiled, "Hans, it's nice to see you."

"Klaus." Hans reached his hand out and sternly shook his brother's hand. Elsa could see Hans' disposition shift dramatically which both startled and alarmed her. Hans firmly placed a hand on the small of Elsa's back, "I do not believe you have met my wife, Queen Elsa."

"I believe you are right." Klaus respectively bowed while graciously accepting Elsa's outstretched hand, "Your Majesty, I apologize for this untimely visit but the matter is quite urgent."

Elsa nodded, "My advisor said it had something to do with King Richard?"

"Yes. I'm afraid I have some bad news." He ran his hand over his beard, "Someone attempted to assassinate our father."

"Attempted to?" Hans furrowed his brow, "So he's alright?"

"More or less."

"That is bad news." Hans smirked.

Elsa tried not to laugh at Hans' sarcastic tone and even Klaus cracked a small smile, "Hans, I know you and father never saw eye-to-eye until recently but he is requesting that all of his sons return to the Southern Isles."

Elsa tilted her head, "Prince Klaus, if I may inquire, what happened?"

"Someone pulled a gun on him during our summer festival. Shot him in the shoulder. But the doctors say he will survive."

Elsa absentmindedly started rubbing her shoulder where she took a bullet not too long ago, "If it were an assassination attempt then you would think they would have been aiming at a more vulnerable spot."

"That's what we surmised." Klaus cracked another smile, "Hans, you didn't mention how inquisitive my sister-in-law was."

Although it may have been unintentional, that comment irked Hans as he stood up a bit straighter and his demeanor turned defensive, "It takes more than a pretty face to rule a kingdom, Klaus. She's gone through more than you could ever imagine and she had to take the throne as soon as she became of age. She's more capable than most men of your stature give her credit for."

"I didn't mean any harm by it. I just meant that she's very beautiful and it's nice that she can also have her own input. She's remarkably insightful-"

"Excuse me, but _she_ can hear you." Elsa leaned back against the edge of Hans' desk with her arms crossed in order to reflect her annoyance, "Prince Klaus, it seems that you either have an amateur assassin on your hands or an expert."

"An expert? Did you not hear that he missed?"

"And did you not hear what your father said after the attack? He wants all of his sons to return to the Southern Isles. Perhaps the assailant knew this and therefore purposefully missed any vitals. Your father may not be the actual target."

"You think that one of us could be the target?"

Elsa cocked an eyebrow, "Do not take this the wrong way, but you're probably not the target or else the assassin would have shot you instead."

Hans' lips twitched as he tried not to smile and laugh at his brother's appalled expression, "Elsa's right, Klaus. It could be any of us, except you, no offense. Did you question the attacker?"

Klaus hesitated, "…not yet."

"Why didn't-oh…"Hans shook his head in disbelief, "Don't tell me they escaped."

"The main square was crowded and no one seemed to get a good look at him."

"And I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that you didn't examine the bullet?"

"Examine the bullet? It was covered in Father's blood, that's my examination. But we are creating a list of possible suspects."

"Way to go, Detective." Hans sarcastically laughed, "I'm sorry, Klaus, but until the assailant is caught there is no way I am going back to the Southern Isles."

"Hans, you don't understand-"

"No, _you_ don't understand. I've got a life here. A family. A job. And I'm not going to pack up everything and head back home for who knows how long."

"We need your help!"

"Wait, what?" Hans' face showed genuine surprise.

"Father specifically requested that I travel here and escort you home. Everyone else just got a letter but he sent _me_ to personally make sure you were coming back. He admires your work ethic, Hans. He wanted someone who 'knew what he was doing'. And let's face it, besides me and maybe Viktor, you're probably the most intelligent."

"Wow…that was almost a compliment."

"I'm being serious, Hans." Klaus briefly glanced down before looking up at Hans with a sigh, "Please come home."

"I'll think about it. But in the meantime, it's late and, personally, I'm tired."

For the first time in a while, Elsa finally spoke up, "We will get you settled into a room for the remainder of the night. Breakfast is served at half past seven. My advisor is waiting outside and he will escort you to your room."

"Thank you, Queen Elsa." Klaus respectively bowed as Elsa made her exit, "And Hans?" Hans paused from where he stood by the door, "Please take your consideration seriously."

Hans solemnly nodded, "Goodnight, Klaus."

* * *

Quiet and tired, it was about three in the morning by the time Hans and Elsa shuffled into their bedroom. Elsa sat at the edge of the bed and tiredly rubbed her face while Hans paced back and forth, "We're both thinking the same thing, aren't we?"

"Vortex?"

"Vortex." Hans ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

Elsa looked up and watched him pace, "But what could they possibly be planning? Thomas Sullivan is locked up. We have James Jagger here."

"Perhaps Thomas was right. Vortex may be larger than we originally anticipated."

"If that be the case, then what happened in London was just the tip of the iceberg."

Hans humorlessly laughed, "If that was just the tip of Vortex, then we are getting into something big."

"Something big?" _They said that something big is coming and now was not a good time to have a baby. You need to place all of your heart and energy into what's going to happen. There will be no room for any sort of distractions._ "This is it." Elsa whispered to herself.

"I'm sorry?"

"Remember when I told you that something was coming. Something _big_? This could be it."

"Okay, so what are we going to do about it?"

"I…I don't know." Elsa stood up and walked over to Hans.

Hans sighed as Elsa wrapped her arms around him, "What do you want me to do? I'll do whatever you say."

"Honestly? I don't want you to go." She apologetically looked up at him, "But I feel like you should. I mean, technically speaking, if this _is_ Vortex, aren't we the ones who kind of set them off?"

"Technically speaking? Vortex is an organization filled with crazy people and I don't think we should take the blame for any of their antics."

"Hans, look. We are included in a small number of people who know about this organization. If you go back to the Southern Isles, you can help them catch this person and then come back. Without you, they'll be lost."

"Elsa, we are barely starting to get over a huge hurdle of our own. Do you really think it's best if I go?"

"It depends. Best for me? No. Best for your family back home, your home kingdom, perhaps the world? Yes. And let's face it. I think too logically to argue with stakes like that."

"It could be a trap."

"We really have no proof of that since the bullet cannot confirm anything, so it may not have anything to do with Vortex after all. Your father is not a very popular man so the possibilities are endless."

Hans laughed as he tightened his embrace around her, "Here's to hoping."

* * *

As seven thirty was slowly approaching, Anna and Kristoff were walking hand-in-hand to the dining room for breakfast. Both were feeling pretty anxious about Anna's upcoming appointment with the doctor that would take place shortly after breakfast. Finally, in order to break the tension, Kristoff cleared his throat, "So…how are you feeling this morning? Any queasiness?"

"Actually, I feel pretty good today." Anna smiled, "Plus I slept really well last night."

"That's good."

Another awkward silence fell between them, "So how did you sleep?"

"Fine. Just fine." Kristoff anxiously rubbed the back of his neck, a habit he tended to do when he was nervous.

"Um, so hey, I was thinking…" Anna glanced up at her husband before looking straight ahead again, "If I am, ya know…would you be hoping for a girl or a boy?"

"Honestly? I haven't given it much thought because I'm really hoping that I won't have to give it much thought for a while."

Anna slightly pouted, "Yeah…me too."

Kristoff glanced down at Anna and smirked, "Obviously you've been thinking about it though."

"Ya know, I really haven't. I was just trying to make conversation."

"I saw that look, Anna. I know you're lying." Kristoff opened the dining room door for her, "So? Boy or girl?"

"I think I would be hoping for-who the heck are you?" Anna stared at the stranger who was already seated at the table.

"You must be Princess Anna." The man stood up and walked over to them, "Which would make you Prince Consort Kristoff Bjorgman." The man respectfully bowed, "I am Prince Klaus of the Southern Isles."

"Oh my gosh, you're one of Hans' brothers?!"

"Yes, I am. Sorry to have startled you, but Queen Elsa told me that breakfast was to be served at half past seven?"

"Uhhh yeeaahhh…" Anna tilted her head at Klaus, "So when did you show up exactly because as of last night we weren't hosting any guests nor were we expecting any."

Kristoff was shocked by Anna's blunt tone but to his surprise Klaus just laughed, "You know, I've heard about your matter-of-fact boldness, Your Highness, and I must say it is refreshing to hear a royal speak with such genuine assertiveness."

"Thanks but you still haven't answered my question-"

"I see you've already met my brother." Hans announced with false enthusiasm as he and Elsa entered the dining room.

"Yeah and I'm still wondering about the why?"

Elsa motherly ushered everyone towards the table, "How about we all sit down and discuss this over breakfast, shall we?"

Once everyone was seated, the dining staff entered and expertly brought in the numerous amount of trays. Within a minute, the wait staff was gone and everything was properly displayed on the table. Anna patiently waited for everyone to start eating their breakfast but the suspense and unknown tension in the air was making her rather restless, "So, Klaus…what brings you to Arendelle?"

"Anna." Elsa threw a pointed look at her sister.

"What? You said we could discuss this over breakfast?"

"If it is alright with you, Your Majesty, I do not mind telling them about my business here."

Elsa glanced at Hans who gave a subtle nod, "If you wish to discuss this now then let's get on with it."

"Princess Anna, I come to bring unfortunate news that my father has been shot."

"Oh no! Is he alright?!"

"Don't act too worried, he survived." Hans unenthusiastically quipped.

"Oh…okay. Did you catch the guy?"

"Not yet."

"Did you take a good look at the bullet?"

Klaus momentarily paused at the strange and familiar question, "No, it was covered in blood."

"Oh…well the good news is that he's alive."

"Yes, but the real news is that my father has requested for all princes of the Southern Isles to return home immediately."

"What?!" Anna glanced at Hans and Elsa, noticing the uncomfortable looks they shared, "So the real reason you're here is to escort Hans _back_ to the Southern Isles?" Suddenly it made sense as to why there was some sort of tension at the table, "Hans, you are not actually going to go back, are you?"

All eyes were on Hans as he picked at his breakfast, "After a long and debated conversation with Elsa, we did come to a decision." He glanced at Elsa as she quietly grabbed his hand underneath the table and gave it a comforting squeeze, "We decided that I will go back to the Southern Isles."

"What?! Hans are you serious?! After everything that's happened-" Elsa shot a soft snow flurry at Anna underneath the table in order to get her attention and subtly shook her head to discourage her from talking about Sperca, Hans' death, London, Vortex, Hans' mother, or the baby. Anna got the hint and instantly composed herself, "You know, with everything that's happened regarding the strange summer storms we've been having. The weather is hardly fit for you to travel."

Klaus sympathetically smiled, "Don't worry, Princess. My crew are some of the finest sailors in the region. They got me here safely and they can take us back just as safe."

"But…but…"

Elsa curtly interrupted, "The decision has already been made, Anna. The crew has been alerted and they will be departing by noon."

Anna fiercely shook her head, "This is a mistake." She pushed her chair out and stood up in a calm manner, "Now if you'll excuse me. I've lost my appetite." Without a response she turned and strode out of the room.

Everyone else quietly sat at the table as they listened to the door slam behind her. A couple seconds passed before Kristoff stood up, "Hans, I respect your decision and I wish you good luck and safe passage. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go check on Anna." With a small approving nod from Elsa, Kristoff calmly left the room and followed the direction Anna disappeared to.

Another uncomfortable moment passed until Klaus quipped up, "Well, she's certainly a fiery kind-of-girl, eh?"

* * *

Kristoff took large strides through the castle corridors and given his height advantage over Anna, he quickly caught up with her, "That was an interesting development."

"If you're referring to my reaction then you can stop right there-"

"I was referring to the decision of Hans returning to the Southern Isles. I always thought he hated that place."

"Me too. None of this makes sense." Anna stopped walking and faced Kristoff, "I mean, Elsa is barely starting to feel like herself again and then he decides to leave? What's up with that?"

"Well, he did say that they both made this decision together so Elsa must be somewhat alright with this."

"She's not. She can't be. But you know her, she always puts everyone else's needs before her own."

"Princess Anna, you're here early." Doctor Omsorg kindly smiled as he stepped out of his office, "Would you like to do this now?"

"Um, sure, if that's alright with you."

"Absolutely. Come on in."

As the doctor headed back into his office, Anna turned around and whispered to Kristoff, "I need you to go check on Elsa and find out what's really going on."

"Anna, I don't think-"

"We don't have much time. Hans and Klaus are leaving by noon remember?"

"Fine." He sighed before the door closed in his face. He stood in the hallway and anxiously rubbed the back of his neck before heading towards Hans and Elsa's room.

* * *

"Don't look at me like that."

"Like what?"

"You're looking at me with your sad eyes."

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize…" Elsa shook her head as Hans returned to packing.

"You know, it's not too late to change your mind. You just say the word and I'll stay."

"Hans, don't do this. You know how I really feel about you leaving." She sighed as she laid down on her side on the bed, continuing to watch her husband pack, "Are we making the right decision?"

"Don't plant doubt in my mind, Elsa. I would much rather stay here than go back to that horrid wasteland."

"Is it really that bad?"

"I don't know. I'm just not looking forward to acting like the old me again. I've grown rather fond of the new and improved me."

Elsa smirked, "Me too." Hans chuckled as he glanced over at the door, something he had been doing since they returned from breakfast. Unfortunately for him, Elsa also noticed this, "Why do you keep looking at the door? Is there something else I don't know about?"

"No, it's just…" Hans glanced at the clock, "I've been wondering how long it would take Anna to come knocking on our door. After what happened at breakfast, I figured it was just a matter of time before she came in here and started yelling at me for leaving."

"I can't believe you're scared of my sister." Elsa laughed.

"She's scary when she's angry." As Elsa continued to laugh, the sound of someone knocking on the door quickly quieted them down. Hans slowly backed away from the door, "I'm going to let you answer the door. It's probably Anna."

Elsa rolled her eyes as she got off the bed and sauntered over to the door, "Oh! Hi, Kristoff." Elsa opened the door wider so Kristoff could step inside, "Hans, it's Kristoff."

"Kristoff?" Hans poked his head out from the bathroom, "Well this is a surprise."

"I know you were probably expecting Anna but she sent me instead." Kristoff slowly closed the door behind him.

"Is she still angry?" Elsa sat at the edge of the bed.

"She's more confused than angry." Kristoff glanced back and forth between Hans and Elsa, "So? What's really going on?"

Elsa and Hans shared a look before Hans stepped further into the room, "We believe that Vortex is calling us out. The assassin purposely missed my father knowing that he would request all of his sons to return home, thereby isolating me from all of you."

Elsa furrowed her brows, "Think about it. We managed to defeat Vortex last time because we were all together and when we are all together, we put up a good fight. But if we were to be divided-"

"Then we would be weaker." Kristoff nodded like he understood but then he violently shook his head, "But then Hans' decision to leave makes even less sense. Why are you purposefully making us weaker?"

"We are trying to get ahead of whatever Vortex is planning. As far as we know, Sullivan is still locked up and it's only a matter of time until he gets his minions to break him out. If I can help my family find and apprehend the Vortex assassin as soon as possible then we may be able to stop whatever Vortex is planning before it reaches its full potential."

"Well I guess that makes a little more sense…barely."

Elsa sighed, "We know it's a risk but it's one we have to take."

"Alright, if you say so." As he turned to leave he muttered, "I wish Vortex would just leave us and the rest of the world alone."

"As do we." Hans chuckled as he closed the door behind Kristoff. He turned around and looked at Elsa with a smirk, "You know, we've still got some time left until I have to meet Klaus."

"Okay? What did you have in mind?"

He reached for her hand with a smile, "Come with me."

* * *

"Okay, give it to me straight, Doc. What's the verdict?"

"Princess, I am not done yet."

Anna sighed as she continued to lay on the bed, impatiently waiting to hear her results, "So if I were to be pregnant, how would you recommend me telling Elsa?"

"The truth usually does the trick." The doctor walked back over to Anna and sat on the stool beside the bed, "Of course you may want to put off that conversation until you actually know the results." He took his stethoscope out as Anna lifted her blouse, "Now, this may feel a bit cold."

Anna yelped followed by a small giggling fit, "It tickles."

"Princess, it's hard to listen when you are giggling." However, the doctor couldn't help but smile at Anna's child-like laugh.

"S-sorry." Anna tried to take a deep breath but she couldn't control herself.

"Anna?" The doctor and Anna both stopped what they were doing and turned to find Kristoff poking his head into the room, "I'm sorry, am I interrupting?"

"No, it's quite alright. Please come in." The doctor stood and got Kristoff another chair so he could sit on the other side of the bed, "Perhaps you could help the Princess calm down."

"Is everything alright?"

"It turns out that your wife is quite ticklish."

"Oh, yeah. I found that out on our wedding night-"

"Kristoff!" Anna's face instantly turned red.

"What? He's a doctor."

"Some things are meant to be private." Anna covered her face in embarrassment.

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about, Princess. I've heard a lot of so-called 'private' things in my time as a doctor. You would be surprised by how much I've learned about Queen Elsa and Prince Hans during the time of the Queen's short-lived pregnancy."

Anna immediately sat up with intrigue, "Ooohh…tell me!"

"Sorry, doctor-patient confidentiality. I've said too much already." The doctor smirked as he took out his stethoscope again, "But let's try this again shall we?"

"Alright." Anna laid down and took Kristoff's hand as the doctor proceeded. She had to bite her lip and tighten her grip on Kristoff but she managed to keep it together this time.

Finally, the doctor nodded and put away his stethoscope, "So, you said you've been experiencing morning sickness?"

"Yes…no…I don't know…" Anna rubbed her face, "Ever since we found out about Elsa's miscarriage, I've had trouble sleeping and feeling queasy in the morning. Plus I've been a little late on certain _things_."

"I see." The doctor nodded understandingly, "I guess my final question would be this: are you two ready to have a baby?"

"Wait, what?!" Kristoff's eyes grew wide.

"Oh no no no…" Anna instantly sat up with panic, "I mean, we haven't even talked about it, let alone actually being ready to be parents. Plus, with everything that just happened with Elsa…I would feel terrible!"

"Don't worry, Princess. You are not pregnant."

Anna blinked, "I-I'm not?"

"No, you're body has been under a severe amount of stress since your sister's miscarriage. Sometimes sudden stressful events can cause a woman to fall behind on her monthly routines. And the queasiness you've been experiencing in the mornings has to do with your body being exhausted via your lack of sleep via the stress you've been under."

"So, I'm fine? Everything's normal?"

"Everything is perfectly normal, Princess."

"Oh thank goodness." Anna visibly relaxed, "I don't think I could handle telling Elsa especially with Hans leaving."

"Prince Hans is leaving?"

"Yeah, he's going back to the Southern Isles. Apparently someone tried to kill his father but he survived and he's requesting that all of his sons return home to help catch the killer or something."

"Hmm…interesting." The doctor stood and bowed, "Well, if there's anything else you need, Your Highness, you know where to find me."

"Thank you, Doctor." Once the doctor left the room, Anna turned to Kristoff, "Okay, so spill it. What did Elsa and Hans have to say?"

* * *

It was about nine in the morning as Klaus wandered through the halls, taking in the art the Arendelle castle had to offer. He kind of felt bad about how breakfast ended and he was hoping that if he wandered around the castle long enough he would bump into someone from the royal family. But he had been wandering for about an hour and he was about to give up and head back to his room when he spotted a familiar face, although he wasn't expecting to meet this person, "Annaliese?"

"Yes?" She turned around and her jaw dropped, "Klaus? W-what are you doing here?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing."

"Well I asked first."

Klaus chuckled, "Yes, you did. I'm here to escort Hans back to the Southern Isles."

"He isn't in any trouble is he?"

"Not unless he's the man behind the assassination attempt on my father."

"What?!"

"A man pulled a gun on my father during our summer festival. Shot him in the shoulder, but the doctors' say he will survive."

"You caught the man who did this right?"

"Not exactly-"

"So he's still roaming around the Southern Isles and you want to bring Hans back why? So he can get shot as well?"

"No, it's not just Hans. My father wants all of his sons to return home. Speaking of my brothers, where's Kendrick?"

Annaliese hesitated while she lowered her eyes, "He's…dead."

Klaus' eyes widened in shock, "What?! How?!"

"There was a rebellion in Sperca and our palace came under attack. We managed to escape to a hidden safe house but I guess a spy followed us because when I left to collect fresh water from the springs they attacked our safe house and killed Kendrick."

"My God…when did this happen?"

"Over a year ago. I'm surprised you didn't receive word-"

"How would I? The rebel scumbags who killed him wouldn't be considerate enough to write us and _you_ didn't inform us. Who did you think would write us?"

"I'm sorry I didn't think-"

"No you didn't, did you?!" Klaus temporarily paused in order to control his temper, "Does Hans know?"

"Yes. He and Elsa have been kind of enough to take me in."

"Why didn't you come back to the Southern Isles? Why did you come here instead? Wait…" Klaus raised a questioning brow, "How did you know Hans was here?"

"Your father sent Kendrick a letter saying Hans returned to Arendelle in order to receive his punishment for his crimes in Arendelle."

"And how did you know that Queen Elsa spared him? We didn't even know Hans was alive until he returned to the Southern Isles to ask to be reinstated as a prince in order to marry Queen Elsa."

"Hans and Elsa sent us a wedding invitation before the attack. We couldn't attend due to the rising tension among the citizens of Sperca." Annaliese lied without even batting an eyelash.

"In retrospect you should have accepted the invitation, my brother could have still been alive." Klaus looked Annaliese over, "You two have any children?"

"No."

"Hmm…"

"If you need a representative from Sperca, I could return to the Southern Isles in Kendrick's place."

"You are not a son of King Richard-"

"But I am still apart of the family."

"So is Queen Elsa and she is not coming along."

"Queen Elsa has a kingdom to run. I've got nothing better to do." Annaliese defiantly crossed her arms, "And in case you have forgotten, I grew up as a commoner in the Southern Isles as well. I have inside knowledge about the kingdom that none of you privileged princes would ever know about. I provide a different perspective that would prove to be quite useful."

Klaus intensely stared at her for a few seconds before finally nodding, "You make a good point. It would be foolish of me to leave you behind."

"I'll go pack my things." Annaliese smirked as she turned to leave. However, once she turned the corner, her nonchalant demeanor disappeared as worry came upon her. She nervously wrung her hands as she thought about her leaving Henry behind as well as whatever situation she was getting herself into. So instead of going to her room, she immediately went to go find Hans and Elsa.

* * *

"Hans, are you sure we have enough time for this? You haven't even finished packing-"

"Elsa, please stop worrying about me for the moment. You'll be doing enough of that once I leave."

"Fine…" Elsa figured they were heading to their usual special spot up on the hill but when Hans turned down a hallway that went in the opposite direction of the gardens, Elsa was confused, "Where are we going?"

"You'll see." Hans continued leading her down the hallway at an excited pace, until he finally came to a stop, "Here we are…" He opened the double doors that led into the large empty ballroom, "Come on in." He ushered her inside before closing the doors behind them.

"The ballroom?"

"Yup…" He chuckled at her confused expression, "Doesn't ring a bell?"

Elsa shook her head, "Not really, at least not yet."

"That's alright." Hans cleared his throat, "Queen Elsa," He held out his hand and properly bowed, "May I have this dance?"

A small smile spread across her lips in realization, "I don't know how to dance, Hans."

Hans kindly smiled and daringly reached for her right hand, "I can teach you." He placed her left hand on his shoulder and then gently placed his right hand on her waist, "You're blushing…"

Elsa cleared her throat, "I just don't want to make myself look like a fool."

Hans thoughtfully smiled, "Your Majesty, as long as you have a partner who knows what they are doing, then you will never look like a fool."

Elsa's smile grew, "Then I sure hope you know what you are doing."

Hans playfully winked, "You just have to trust me."

Unlike their first dance together in Sperca, Elsa didn't step on his toes nor did Hans have to teach her anything. Instead, they gracefully waltzed around the ballroom as Hans hummed the song they first danced to back in Sperca. The whole world and its problems melted away as the couple got lost in each other's eyes, elegantly twirling and sashaying around the empty ballroom. Finally, Hans stopped humming as their fantasy slowly drew to a close.

Elsa rested her head against his chest as they continued to sway, "I can't believe that you remembered."

"I've had a lot of life changing moments in my past that have unfortunately changed me for the worse. So when I finally experienced one that changed me for the better, I never forgot." He looked down at her and smiled, "You have been so good to me, Elsa. I don't think I could ever repay you."

"Come back home to me, alive and in one piece, then we can call it even, deal?"

Hans leaned down and gently kissed her, "Deal."

"Huh…" Elsa furrowed her brows.

"What's wrong?"

"I just realized that this was the first time we kissed since…you know, the _loss_."

"Yeah…such a shame that it had to be under these disheartening conditions."

"Yeah…" Elsa wistfully lowered her eyes before recomposing herself, "Perhaps we should head back to our room. You still need to finish packing."

"Sure." Hans took her hand and began to lead her toward the doors.

"Hans?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks for the trip down memory lane." She gave his hand a gentle squeeze, "It was fun dancing with you again."

Hans abruptly stopped walking and turned to her with a serious look on his face, "Elsa, I know you don't like me talking like this but in the event that I do not return-"

"Hans, don't-"

"I enjoyed our last dance together." Hans' heart ached as he saw sorrow fill Elsa's eyes, "I know we were both thinking it-"

"Stop." Elsa cut him off with a fervent kiss as she looped her arms around his neck and brought their bodies close together. Hans immediately responded with a passionate kiss of his own, snaking his arms around her body and keeping her close to him like he was afraid he was going to lose her.

Finally, as the couple ran out of breath, they ended their kiss. Elsa looked up at Hans with a sense of determination, "As soon as you start talking like that, then you have already sealed your fate. Promise me you will never let fear or doubt creep into your mind."

"I promise." He gently kissed her again, this time lingering longer than before.

Elsa looked up at him, a little out of breath from the kiss, "I think we should back to our room. You know, so you could finish packing."

Hans smiled at her insinuation, "Right. _Packing_."

* * *

"So what if Vortex tries to attack us while Hans is gone? Have they thought of that?"

"I don't know, Anna, I didn't ask."

"Geez, what's the point in sending you to get more information if you're not going to actually _get_ more information."

"I'm not as nosy as you. I thought the information they gave us was sufficient enough." Kristoff glanced down at her while they walked through the castle corridors, "You don't trust them?"

"Of course of trust them, I'm just having a hard time understanding the logic here."

"Well I guess you'll have to ask them yourself before Hans leaves." Kristoff glanced at the clock that read ten thirty, "Which should be soon because he leaves in less than two hours."

Anna smirked, "Where do you think we're going?"

"Aww, what? I thought we were going to grab something to eat? We hardly ate any breakfast."

"Sorry but food can wait." Anna stopped in front of Elsa and Hans' door, "Which is a shame because I could really go for some sandwiches right about now." She firmly knocked on the door, "Elsa? It's Anna. We need to talk."

"Hold on. Just give us a moment."

Anna and Kristoff patiently waited outside the door as they heard lots of shuffling inside the room. They were startled when a loud _thud_ sounded inside but then they heard Elsa's laughter follow it. Anna and Kristoff glanced over at each other and Kristoff smirked, "It would seem that we may have caught them at an inconvenient time."

After a couple minutes, the door finally opened as Elsa greeted them, "Anna. Kristoff. What brings you two by?" Elsa smiled as she hastily wrapped her hair into a bun and clipped it in place.

"Elsa, I'm sorry about my behavior at breakfast-"

"It's alright, Anna. I understand how you must have felt blindsided. It was a lot of news to take in and it was still pretty early." Elsa walked over to her mirror and adjusted her dress that seemed to be bit more rumpled than Anna remembered it being at breakfast, "I know you're not here to inquire about Hans and my decision because we already told Kristoff and I know he told you everything."

"Yeah, but…" Anna glanced around the room, "Speaking of Hans, where is he?"

"I'm here." Hans walked out of the bathroom, "Did you come to yell at me about leaving your sister?"

"Well that was my original intent but most of my anger has dissolved by now." Anna noticed Hans' disheveled appearance as he subtly tried to smooth out his clothes and hair, "I understand the reasoning for you leaving but what happens if Vortex tries to attack Arendelle while you're away?"

"Anna, just because I'm leaving doesn't mean the Arendelle military is leaving. The men and their fleets are stronger than ever. Arendelle is in good hands. Besides…" Hans wrapped an arm around Elsa's waist and gave her a smile, "We've got the most powerful queen in the world on the throne."

Elsa returned Hans' smile before facing Anna, "Trust us, we've thought this through. If everything goes to plan with Hans in the Southern Isles then we may put an end to Vortex for good and leave all of this behind us."

Just then the rapid sound of knocking sounded on the door. Hans hurried to the door and opened to reveal a stressed-looking Annaliese, "Annaliese, what's wrong?"

"Where have you been?! I've been looking for you and Elsa everywhere?!" Annaliese pushed her way into the room and closed the door behind her, "I ran into Klaus in the hallway and he told me you were going back to the Southern Isles."

"Wait, you talked to Klaus? Did he ask about Kendrick?"

"Yes, so I had to tell him about Sperca-"

"What?!" Hans and Elsa both exclaimed at the same time.

"What exactly did you tell him?" Elsa stepped forward with intrigue.

"I told him that rebels attacked the palace and that Kendrick and I escaped to a safe house but when I left the safe house to get water they attacked and killed Kendrick."

"You didn't mention anything about Elsa and I being there?"

"No. I lied and said that Kendrick and I received your wedding invitation before the attack and once Kendrick was killed I travelled to Arendelle to seek refuge."

"Does he know about Henry?"

"No. I told him Kendrick and I had no children." Annaliese anxiously wrung her hands, "But there's something else." Everyone silently waited in anticipation, "I'm coming to the Southern Isles with you."

Hans and Elsa looked at each other in bewilderment while Anna sighed, "So was _this_ a part of the plan?"

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! Please please please review! Take care and have a great week! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi Guys! I know it's been about a month since my last update so I attached the ending of the previous chapter in case you would like a refresher on what is going down. Thank you for your kind words, patience, and support. You are all amazing and it is a privilege to write for you. I hope you enjoy the next chapter and finally, Happy Reading! :)**

* * *

 **Previously...**

"I understand the reasoning for you leaving but what happens if Vortex tries to attack Arendelle while you're away?"

"Anna, just because I'm leaving doesn't mean the Arendelle military is leaving. The men and their fleets are stronger than ever. Arendelle is in good hands. Besides…" Hans wrapped an arm around Elsa's waist and gave her a smile, "We've got the most powerful queen in the world on the throne."

Elsa returned Hans' smile before facing Anna, "Trust us, we've thought this through. If everything goes to plan with Hans in the Southern Isles then we may put an end to Vortex for good and leave all of this behind us."

Just then the rapid sound of knocking sounded on the door. Hans hurried to the door and opened to reveal a stressed-looking Annaliese, "Annaliese, what's wrong?"

"Where have you been?! I've been looking for you and Elsa everywhere?!" Annaliese pushed her way into the room and closed the door behind her, "I ran into Klaus in the hallway and he told me you were going back to the Southern Isles."

"Wait, you talked to Klaus? Did he ask about Kendrick?"

"Yes, so I had to tell him about Sperca-"

"What?!" Hans and Elsa both exclaimed at the same time.

"What exactly did you tell him?" Elsa stepped forward with intrigue.

"I told him that rebels attack the palace and that Kendrick and I escaped to a safe house but when I left the safe house to get water they attacked and killed Kendrick."

"You didn't mention anything about Elsa and I being there?"

"No. I lied and said that Kendrick and I received your wedding invitation before the attack and once Kendrick was killed I travelled to Arendelle to seek refuge."

"Does he know about Henry?"

"No. I told him Kendrick and I had no children." Annaliese anxiously wrung her hands, "But there's something else." Everyone silently waited in anticipation, "I'm coming to the Southern Isles with you."

Hans and Elsa looked at each other in bewilderment while Anna sighed, "So was _this_ a part of the plan?"

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

"Woah-okay-hold on there, you're coming with me?"

"Uh-huh." Annaliese nodded.

"How did this happen?"

"I may have volunteered to go on Kendrick's behalf."

Hans furrowed his brow, "Annaliese, why would you do that?"

"I don't know. Klaus was asking too many questions and I panicked."

Elsa rubbed her forehead, "I'm surprised he actually agreed to this."

Hans shrugged, "Well she has a lot of insider knowledge about the people in the kingdom. It makes sense to bring her along."

"There may have been another reason why I volunteered." Everyone looked at Annaliese and waited for her to continue, "I wanted to protect you."

"Me?" Hans blinked, "Why?"

"Hans, you and I grew up in the castle together. I saw how they treated you. Heck, I even tended to most of your injuries. And I know you're a grown adult and you can probably take care of yourself but I also know that you're keeping this big Sperca secret from your entire family and if that should slip out, I can't imagine what they would do to you."

Anna crossed her arms and shrugged, "What's the big deal with this Sperca secret? Why's it even a secret to begin with?"

"I don't exactly trust my brothers, Anna. Some of the events that happened there would raise questions about my allegiance to them. Since I'm in a highly trusted position, if they should doubt my loyalty, I could get myself, along with you guys, into some serious trouble." Hans regarded Annaliese warmly, "Having you along might actually help me keep my cover."

"You're welcome." Annaliese smirked.

"But we'll have to make sure we keep our stories straight. My brothers may act like animals but they're also pretty smart."

"I know. We've got a three day journey to prepare though."

"True. Are you packed?"

"Not yet. But I'm on my way to do that right now." Annaliese's expression saddened, "Then I have to say goodbye to Henry." She looked at Elsa, "I know I'm really pushing my luck, but would it be possible-"

"I'll take care of Henry." Elsa warmly smiled, "Consider it returning the favor for you taking care of Hans for me."

Annaliese rushed forward and hugged her, "Thank you, Elsa." She realized what she was doing and immediately dropped the hug, "Sorry. I'm just so grateful for having friends and family like you. You guys are so amazing. The Southern Isles princes could learn a thing or two from you."

"Hey!" Hans feigned a hurtful expression.

"Nothing I wouldn't say to your face, Hans." Annaliese grinned as she headed for the door, "Thanks again! I need to go pack!"

Once Annaliese left the room and the door audibly shut, Anna looked around at everyone, "Sooo…that just happened."

Elsa pursed her lips, "Anna? Kristoff? Could you give us a minute?"

"Uh sure." Anna grabbed Kristoff's arm and lead him out of the room.

Elsa followed them to the door and firmly shut the door behind them. She stood facing the door with her hand still resting on the doorknob.

Hans anxiously fidgeted, "Elsa, I know what you're thinking-"

"No, I'm pretty sure you don't." Elsa turned around to face Hans, her eyes deeply filled with concern, "We're going to have to change the plan."

"W-what?" Hans was genuinely surprised, "I thought that you'd be concerned about Annaliese and I travelling together-"

"I told you that I let that suspicion go a while back. Unless you think I should be worried about the two of you?"

"No. Absolutely not." He stepped forward and gently took her hand, "I only have eyes for you. My heart only belongs to you."

Elsa gave him a half-hearted smile, "That's sweet, but save it, Westergard. You leave in an hour and we've got more work to do."

* * *

It was half past eleven as several crewmen carried the travelling trio's luggage to the ship and everyone was gathering at the main entrance to say their goodbyes. Klaus was the first one at the landing and calmly paced with his hands tightly clasped behind his back, occasionally checking his pocket watch.

"Impatient, are we?"

Klaus looked up to see Hans and Elsa walking towards him, "Punctuality may not mean much to you, but it means plenty to me."

"Funny, I thought we were not leaving until noon?" Hans jokingly quipped.

"Don't be a hindrance, Hans."

"This whole trip is a hindrance, my dear brother." Hans smirked, proud that he was visibly getting under his brother's skin.

But before Klaus had a chance to respond, Elsa jumped in, "Prince Klaus, I just remembered that I have a letter I want you to give to your father. It's in my study, if you wouldn't mind accompanying me?"

"Absolutely. But I must insist that you call me Klaus. We are family after all, _Elsa_."

Elsa tried not to visibly cringe at the informality, "Yes, well, come with me." She glanced at her husband, "You can stay here and wait for everyone else to arrive."

Hans nodded as Elsa and Klaus disappeared around the corner. After a short walk through the castle, Elsa opened the door to her study and the two walked inside. Elsa sauntered over to her desk and pretended to pull the letter out of her desk, even though she was already carrying the letter with her. She studied Klaus as he meandered around her office, examining every nook and cranny, "Looking for something?"

"Not really. I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"About why you dragged me all the way to your office to retrieve a letter you already had…" He finally rested his eyes on her with a smirk, "You're not as slick you think, Elsa."

"Okay, you caught me." Elsa crossed her arms, "If you're so smart, then why don't you tell me why I brought you here?"

"Is it not obvious?" Elsa cocked an eyebrow as sign for him to continue, "You don't trust me."

"You haven't given me a reason to yet."

"Listen, I'm sure Hans has told you all about his _traumatic_ childhood-"

"Being verbally and physically abused every moment as a child is pretty traumatic. I've had my own share of mental abuse as a child and it takes its toll."

"But don't you want to hear the truth?"

"I don't know. Are you actually going to be truthful?"

Klaus chuckled, "Yes." He stopped walking and stared out the window, "Truthfully, I never abused Hans. I was already a teenager when he was born and it would have been cruel to hurt someone so much younger than myself. It was mostly the younger five that would find provoking Hans entertaining." He turned and gave Elsa a serious stare, "But I never laid a harmful hand on my youngest brother. Ever."

Elsa returned his serious stare, "But you knew what was going on and still did nothing about it. What does that say about your integrity?"

"Elsa, I never knew how serious it was, I swear-"

"What about pretending that he was invisible for two whole years-"

"Again, not me. That was the middle three. I was hardly ever around while Hans was growing up so I honestly had no idea what was going on-"

"I'm sorry but if you cannot even keep track of what is happening within your own family how am I supposed to trust you when you are dealing with a master assassin and perhaps an even greater danger?" Elsa waited for him to retort but when he didn't, she continued, "You either knew about it and didn't do anything, which would make you knowledgeable and cruel or you didn't know about it which would make you clueless. Pick one."

Clearly put out with this younger woman trying to corner him, Klaus resorted to something he wish he didn't have to do, "I'm not a monster. Not like you." A flash of lightning followed by a loud clap of thunder sounded as he regained his composure, "I may have messed up some things in my past but I never killed Hans. Unlike you and Princess Anna." He clicked his tongue, "Tsk tsk, freezing to death by the hand of your very own sister. What a horrible way to go. Lucky for you that Hans was power hungry and tried to kill you or else your dear sister wouldn't be here right now, would she?"

"Don't push me. You have no idea what I am capable of." Elsa growled as another round of thunder and lightning occurred.

"I have some idea. When you returned Hans to us after the incident, he told us all about your ice palace and your angry snowman bodyguard. Impressive to say the least." His cocky demeanor faded, "I'm sorry, Elsa, I didn't want to bring up the past but in all fairness, you started it." He leaned against the wall beside the window, "What were you hoping to accomplish by this?"

"I wanted to warn you."

"Warn me? Of what?"

"That if anything should happen to Hans or Annaliese during this whole endeavor…" Elsa sharply outstretched her arm and shot an icicle toward Klaus only to have it narrowly miss his throat as it pierced the wall an inch away from his neck, "You will answer to me. Do I make myself clear?" The flash of lightning casted an intimidating shadow across her face.

Klaus nervously gulped, "Crystal."

Elsa motioned her hand toward the door, "You may go." Without another word, he hustled out of the room and hurried down the hall. Once he left, Elsa let out a cleansing sigh, "Well, that went well." A low rumble of thunder responded followed by the sound of heavy rainfall.

* * *

Elsa slowly walked through the halls as she made her way back to the front entrance of the castle to meet up with everyone before saying her final goodbyes to Hans. Although she and Hans thoroughly discussed what to expect and how to handle the situation, there was still a chance that everything could go wrong and that she would never see him again. Despite her attempts to assure herself that he would be fine, there was no absolute guarantee and that worried her. But she put on her usual brave façade as she approached the group waiting at the entrance, "Everyone here and ready to go?"

"Yes, it would seems so." Hans wore a smile that Elsa could easily tell was fake.

"I still can't help but feel as though you should stay. You know, for _weather_ reasons." Anna pouted, "But I guess you're determined to go so…" She threw her arms around Hans, "Take care of yourself. And please remember to come home."

"Thanks, Anna." Hans returned her hug, "Take care of Elsa for me."

"Absolutely."

Hans walked up to Kristoff next and outstretched his hand, "Well, looks like you are now the man of the castle. I know you won't take the responsibility lightly."

Kristoff smirked as he shook Hans' hand, "Take care, Westergard."

"You too, Bjorgman." Hans returned the smirk before facing his wife, "Elsa, I…I don't know what to say."

"Don't say anything." Elsa smiled as his face loamed just inches from her, "Just remember the promise you made." She closed her eyes as he leaned forward and planted a delicate kiss on her lips, making her heart yearn as she could feel his hand caress her cheek. She had to break the kiss before she let herself get too swept away in the moment, "I love you."

He rested his forehead against hers, "And I love you."

A small sad smile played across her lips, "Don't forget the plan, but above all else, come back home."

"As you wish, my Queen." He brought her hand up to his lips and gently rested a kiss upon the top before turning away to join Klaus and Annaliese who were already halfway out the door. Anna, Kristoff, and Elsa walked down the steps that led to the courtyard and watched the trio disappear into the heavy rainfall.

"They'll be okay, right Elsa?" Anna turned to look at her sister, "Elsa?"

Elsa snapped out of whatever trance she was in, "Um…yes. Yes, they'll be just fine." She looked back toward the gates, "I hope."

* * *

"You know, starting a journey when it's raining is considered to be bad luck. Or is that getting married?" Annaliese shivered as she hung up her wet coat on the hook beside the entrance of her on-board suite.

"Here, let me find you a blanket." Hans searched in one the dressers until he found a thick quilt, "This'll work."

"Thanks." Annaliese smiled as he draped the quilt around her shoulders, "Aren't you cold?"

"I think you forget that I'm married to the Queen of Ice and Snow. Besides…" Hans sat on the bed beside Annaliese, "The cold doesn't bother me, anyway." He smiled at his wife's famous words.

"Perhaps, but still…here." She threw half of the blanket over Hans' shoulders, "You'll be no use to us if you catch a cold."

"Thanks." Hans chuckled, "I think it's getting married."

"Huh?"

"The bad luck when it's raining superstition. I think that's about getting married."

"Oh…" Annaliese humorlessly laughed.

"What?"

"When Kendrick and I got married it was raining." She looked at Hans, "I guess you're right."

"So much for just being a silly superstition."

"Well, don't you two look cuddly?" Klaus smirked as he stood at the doorway, "We barely pulled out of the Arendelle docks and you two are already getting chummy. What would Elsa say if she saw this?"

"Elsa wouldn't say or think anything of this. She trusts me Klaus. Unlike you."

"Yes, she made that perfectly clear in her study." Klaus sinisterly chuckled.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh come on, Hans, don't act like you didn't put her up to trying to scare me with that whole ice trick charade."

"What ice trick?"

"You know the whole 'if anything should happen to Hans or Annaliese' threat with the icicle barely missing my throat." He rolled his eyes as he spoke.

"Klaus, I didn't put her up to that."

"Okay, now I know your joshing with me."

"I'm serious, Klaus. I didn't even know she had that conversation with you, let alone show you her powers." Hans' confused expression was genuine which concerned Klaus.

"Uh-huh. Well…" Although Klaus tried to shrug it off, Hans could tell that he was slightly unnerved, "I think I'm going to change into something warmer…" He stumbled out of the suite and closed the door behind him.

"You are such a liar." Annaliese quietly quipped with a smirk.

"No. I honestly didn't know about the icicle threat."

"But you knew she was going to talk to him."

"Oh yeah, I was completely aware of that." Hans chuckled as he stood up.

"You are an excellent liar, my friend. Which both astounds and worries me."

"I don't lie to you." He turned around and smiled as he headed towards the door, "I can't lie to you. You know all my tells."

"And don't you forget it." Annaliese laughed as she adjusted the quilt around her shoulders.

"I'm going to go change but I'll be right back. We have to go over our stories."

"Yeah…I should change as well."

Hans threw her a casual smile and wave before stepping out into the rain and closing the door behind him. Annaliese stared at the door for a few seconds before realizing that she was smiling in way she hadn't in so long. Her heart swelled as she tightened the quilt around her, remembering the feeling of Hans' strong arms around her when he gently placed it on her shoulders. She quickly wiped the smile off her face as she threw the quilt off, "This is going to be a lot harder than I originally thought."

* * *

Hans stepped inside the suite that he was sharing with Klaus and shook the water off his jacket, "I still can't believe we're going to travel in this storm. This is a horrid idea."

"You don't trust my men?" Klaus frowned as he sat on his bed and slipped on his boots.

"Well, they're not my men so…yeah." Hans grunted as he picked up his luggage from its place on the floor and tossed it onto his bed.

Klaus carefully studied Hans, "If I ask you a question, will you answer it truthfully?"

"I can almost guarantee it."

"Hans." His brother's voice dropped an octave, something he does when he is being serious.

Hans noticed his voice change and tiredly crossed his arms across his chest, "Alright. Go."

"Did you or did you not put Elsa up to threaten me?"

"I did not." Hans dropped his arms and sighed, "Look, I know you're my brother but I don't exactly trust you. So you can be sure that I would not willingly let you have alone time with my wife."

"That's what I thought. I just can't believe I could ever be scared of a woman."

Hans chuckled as he took his shirt off, "Believe me. Neither did I. But I feel safe knowing that we are on the same team now." Hans paused as he caught sight of himself in the mirror, he forgot that his scars from Sperca were still clearly visible and he didn't want to even begin to explain, or more likely lie, to Klaus about them. He quickly grabbed one of the towels resting on the bed and wrapped it around his upper body, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Okay?"

Hans curiously cocked his head, "How's _he_ doing?"

Klaus stopped what he was doing and looked up at Hans, "He misses you. He's getting older but he's still active and healthy." His brother smirked, "Is that the only reason you agreed to come?"

"You know that he was my only friend growing up. Other than Annaliese."

"I know…" Klaus thoughtfully paused, "I have another question I want to ask you."

Hans adjusted the towel, "Alright?"

"Do you love Elsa?"

Hans slightly hesitated as he bit his tongue from slipping out a 'yes'. It was such a simple question, but he almost forgot that he had to be the old Hans, "She's…tolerable." That's the best Hans could do at the moment and that was difficult enough.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Klaus smiled as he stood, "You're a good actor, Hans. I almost believed that you cared about them. The whole 'I've got a life here' spiel was gold. You even had me worried when you said that you'd think about it."

Hans chuckled, "Well, there's a reason why father was adamant about me returning home. I'm the cream of the crop as far as deceiving goes."

Klaus slapped Hans on the back, "You've really grown up, Hans. I'm proud of you." And with that, Klaus headed back out into the rain to keep tabs on his crew.

* * *

"Are you sure you're going to be okay? I could sleep here tonight if you want-"

"Anna?"

"Yes?"

"I'll be fine. Besides…" Elsa adjusted her sleeping nephew in her arms, "I've got Henry here in case I feel lonely."

"I just don't understand how you can act so calm about all this."

"Worrying is not going to bring them back any sooner." Elsa glanced at the clock, "Speaking of worrying, you told Kristoff that you'd be back at your room by ten and it's already past eleven. You need to go to bed, Anna."

"Ugh. Fine." Anna quickly hugged Elsa goodnight before she headed for the door, "But if you feel any sort of uneasiness throughout the night, you come get me. I don't want you going through this alone."

"I will. I promise." Elsa smiled, "Thanks for being so supportive."

"Well it was either be supportive or complain about something I have no power over so…" Anna shrugged with a laugh, "Goodnight."

Once Anna closed the door, Elsa sat on the bed with Henry cradled in her arms. She leaned back against her pillows and closed her eyes to allow her to think clearly. As she thought about the events of the day, she found it strange that the idea of Annaliese going with Hans actually comforted her. She knew that Annaliese and Hans were close and that she would prove to be a helpful ally in a hostile environment. With the small snoring of Henry in her arms, Elsa began to drift to sleep. But it didn't take long before someone knocked on her door, "Your Majesty? Are you awake?"

Elsa immediately recognized the voice, "Come in, Gerda." As Gerda stepped into the room, Elsa opened her eyes and sat up, "I'm sorry to ask this of you but could you watch Henry for a couple minutes? There's something I need to do."

"Of course." Gerda scooped Henry up into her arms, "Is it anything I can help you with?"

Elsa straightened out her clothes, "Oh no. It's shouldn't take long."

As Elsa headed for the door, Gerda pipped up, "Are you going to meet someone?"

"What?"

"I know it's not my place to say but…" Gerda examined Elsa's clothing, "You haven't changed into your sleepwear. That must mean that you're going to meet someone in a formal setting."

"Yes. You'd be right." Elsa put a tense smile on her face, "A monarch's work is never done." And with that, she left. She briskly walked through the corridors until she reached the front entrance. She cracked the door opened and made sure that no guards were walking by on their route at the moment. Once the coast was clear, she stepped into the courtyard and stayed close to the shadow covered courtyard perimeter as she made her way to the prison. Before she turned the last corner to reach the prison entrance, she knew she had to get the two guards on watch to leave their posts. So with an expert flick of her wrist, she shot a cold wind across the courtyard and managed to knock over some stable equipment. As the guards left their post to check on the commotion, Elsa hurried into the prison. Similar to when she first exited the castle, Elsa waited until there were no guards walking in the direction she needed to go in. Finally, when the moment was right, Elsa snuck further into the prison and hurried down the walkway.

Elsa slowed her steps as she approached Arendelle's only prisoner, "Mister Jagger…" She had to keep her voice down or else a guard would come check on the noise, "Psst…Mister Jagger…" Elsa pursed her lips as he continued sleeping. She glanced around to make sure the coast was still clear before wiggling her fingers as she sent a chilly breeze in his direction, "James…"

"Huh?!" He immediately sat up, "What the-?" He glanced over at Elsa, "Oh. It's you. That explains it." He rubbed his eyes with a yawn, "What can I do for you, Elsa?"

"It's _Queen_ Elsa and I need your help."

He perked up and leaned forward with intrigue, "I'm listening…?"

* * *

 **Thanks for reading and please review! I love to hear what you guys think! Also if you have any comments, ideas, or interactions/scenes you would like to see, please send me a private message! Thanks again for everything and have an awesome weekend! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**HI Everyone! Again, I apologize for taking so long to update. I've received some tips for my writing and I've been trying to apply them to this chapter. Also, my school workload has gotten out of control and I just found out that I am graduating a semester earlier than I anticipated which may sound exciting (which it is!) but now a lot more thinking-about-the-future-post-college-responsibilities are being thrown onto my plate. Needless to say, I've been really busy. Anyways, as you can guess, the next chapter is up and I hope you all enjoy it! Happy Reading! :)**

* * *

 **Previously...**

 **King Richard of the Southern Isles has been shot but he will reportedly survive. However, he requested that all of the Southern Isles' Princes return home to help find the mysterious shooter. Hans' eldest brother and the heir to the Southern Isles throne, Prince Klaus, traveled to Arendelle to escort Hans, and unexpectedly Annaliese, back to the Southern Isles. Elsa and Hans believe that Vortex is behind the failed assassination attempt as a way to separate Hans from his Arendelle family. As Hans and Elsa had an impromptu farewell dance together in the ballroom, Hans tried to bring up the risks of his journey and the possibility that he may not return. However, Elsa refused to listen to him and made Hans promise her that he would not let fear or doubt creep into his mind. Elsa also promised Annaliese that she would watch and care for Henry in exchange for Annaliese watching and taking care of Hans on their journey. As they departed Arendelle, Hans and Annaliese shared a tender moment together which caused Annaliese to question herself and her motives. Meanwhile, night has fallen on Arendelle...**

"Are you sure you're going to be okay? I could sleep here tonight if you want-"

"Anna?"

"Yes?"

"I'll be fine. Besides…" Elsa adjusted her sleeping nephew in her arms, "I've got Henry here in case I feel lonely."

"I just don't understand how you can act so calm about all this."

"Worrying is not going to bring them back any sooner." Elsa glanced at the clock, "Speaking of worrying, you told Kristoff that you'd be back at your room by ten and it's already past eleven. You need to go to bed, Anna."

"Ugh. Fine." Anna quickly hugged Elsa goodnight before she headed for the door, "But if you feel any sort of uneasiness throughout the night, you come get me. I don't want you going through this alone."

"I will. I promise." Elsa smiled, "Thanks for being so supportive."

"Well it was either be supportive or complain about something I have no power over so…" Anna shrugged with a laugh, "Goodnight."

Once Anna closed the door, Elsa sat on the bed with Henry cradled in her arms. She leaned back against her pillows and closed her eyes to allow her to think clearly. As she thought about the events of the day, she found it strange that the idea of Annaliese going with Hans actually comforted her. She knew that Annaliese and Hans were close and that she would prove to be a helpful ally in a hostile environment. With the small snoring of Henry in her arms, Elsa began to drift to sleep. But it didn't take long before someone knocked on her door, "Your Majesty? Are you awake?"

Elsa immediately recognized the voice, "Come in, Gerda." As Gerda stepped into the room, Elsa opened her eyes and sat up, "I'm sorry to ask this of you but could you watch Henry for a couple minutes? There's something I need to do."

"Of course." Gerda scooped Henry up into her arms, "Is it anything I can help you with?"

Elsa straightened out her clothes, "Oh no. It's shouldn't take long."

As Elsa headed for the door, Gerda pipped up, "Are you going to meet someone?"

"What?"

"I know it's not my place to say but…" Gerda examined Elsa's clothing, "You haven't changed into your sleepwear. That must mean that you're going to meet someone in a formal setting."

"Yes. You'd be right." Elsa put a tense smile on her face, "A monarch's work is never done." And with that, she left. She briskly walked through the corridors until she reached the front entrance. She cracked the door opened and made sure that no guards were walking by on their route at the moment. Once the coast was clear, she stepped into the courtyard and stayed close to the shadow covered courtyard perimeter as she made her way to the prison. Before she turned the last corner to reach the prison entrance, she knew she had to get the two guards on watch to leave their posts. So with an expert flick of her wrist, she shot a cold wind across the courtyard and managed to knock over some stable equipment. As the guards left their post to check on the commotion, Elsa hurried into the prison. Similar to when she first exited the castle, Elsa waited until there were no guards walking in the direction she needed to go in. Finally, when the moment was right, Elsa snuck further into the prison and hurried down the walkway.

Elsa slowed her steps as she approached Arendelle's only prisoner, "Mister Jagger…" She had to keep her voice down or else a guard would come check on the noise, "Psst…Mister Jagger…" Elsa pursed her lips as he continued sleeping. She glanced around to make sure the coast was still clear before wiggling her fingers as she sent a chilly breeze in his direction, "James…"

"Huh?!" He immediately sat up, "What the-?" He glanced over at Elsa, "Oh. It's you. That explains it." He rubbed his eyes with a yawn, "What can I do for you, Elsa?"

"It's _Queen_ Elsa and I need your help."

He leaned forward with intrigue, "I'm listening…?"

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

The stormy winds howled as a cold chill blew through the empty prison halls. A low rumble of thunder could be heard off in the distance as Elsa confidently stood in front of the only occupied cell in the entire prison, "I need you to make something for me."

James curiously cocked his head, "Sure…what do you need?"

"I need you to make me weapons…" She took a step closer and lowered her voice, "G _uns_ to be exact."

"Oh no. This is a joke, right?" He angrily stood up and paced around in his cell, holding the Ice Queen's steely gaze, "You're testing me, aren't you? Seeing if I've changed my ways. Well…" He stopped pacing and stood very close to the cell bars, matching Elsa's stiff stature, "I will not make the weapons. I am done living that life."

"I'm glad to hear that. It makes trusting you that much easier." Elsa smirked at his stunned expression.

"Wait, you're being serious?"

"Discussing weapon manufacturing is not a joking matter, James."

His jaw slightly dropped in surprise, "Oh my-you just said my name. You just called me 'James'."

"Is that not your name?" Elsa shifted her weight to one leg, clearly tired and growing impatient.

"Yeah, but…" He shook his head, "Forget it." He walked back over to the wooden bench in the cell, which also acted as his bed, and sat down, "So…you want to upgrade Arendelle's weapons?"

"Yes. After London, I've realized that Arendelle is severely outgunned. We are still using swords and crossbows while our enemies have been armed with guns and bombs."

"Enemies? I thought Arendelle and Great Britain made an alliance."

"I'm not referring to the Kingdom of Great Britain."

"Oh God, please tell me you aren't still worrying about Vortex?" Elsa remained silent as he analyzed her reaction, "Hold on. What aren't you telling me?"

Elsa pursed her lips in hesitation as she thought about how much she should say, "Someone shot King Richard of the Southern Isles."

His eyebrows shot up in surprise, "Oh wow…is he-"

"He's fine. The gunman missed any vitals. However, the King did send out a request for all his sons to return home in order to help find the culprit."

"And Hans?"

"He left earlier today. His eldest brother came here in order to escort Hans back to the Southern Isles."

James furrowed his brow and nodded his head in understanding, "Okay, I'm following you up to this point. But where does Vortex and you needing weapons come in?"

"Hans and I believe that Vortex is behind the failed assassination attempt as a way to call out Hans and separate him from the rest of us."

"Okay so it sounds like Hans could have used the new weapons but he's already gone so…" James shrugged, "What do _you_ need the weapons for?"

"If this is ploy from Vortex, they'll want to seek revenge on me too."

"Elsa, I'm going to be honest with you. If Vortex is really planning to hurt you, the best way to accomplish that would be for them to kill Hans. They aren't stupid and they know how much he means to you."

"I know. And they also know how much I mean to Hans." Elsa's stare intensified, "We don't know who Vortex will try to seek revenge on, and so until we have more clues, we have to assume that the other is the target. Hans will have the advanced weaponry of the Southern Isles at his fingertips and if they try to kill him, it'll most likely be a small and subtle attack. Not likely to capture a lot of attention. One that Hans could counter easily if he is aware and well-equipped, which he will be. However, if _I_ am the target, they'll have to launch a much larger attack. My military and guards won't let them waltz into the castle and do me any harm. But again we are severely outgunned. That is why I need those weapons. For self-defense."

"Huh…" James methodically rubbed his chin, "So by sending Hans back to the Southern Isles, you're answering their call out with a call out of your own."

"Precisely."

James nodded with a smirk on his face, "I don't know if that's foolish or ingenious."

"Perhaps a little bit of both. But more than anything, it is a risk. One that I want to see play out in our favor." Elsa lifted her chin in a challenging manner, "So? Are you going to help?"

"What would I get in return?"

"Self-respect. Plus you'll feel all warm and fuzzy inside for doing the right thing."

James nonchalantly toyed with his hook hand, "I'll need a lab."

"Your old lab is being restored as we speak."

"And materials?"

"I sent out the request this morning. They should arrive in three days' time. Consequently, that is when your lab will be ready."

"And my notebook? I need my old sketches if this is going to work."

"You mean this one?" Elsa pulled out his old notebook that had every weapon sketch he ever created, "I borrowed it from your lab in London. I hope you don't mind."

James chuckled, "My services are yours, my Queen."

"Good. You will stay here until everything is up and ready to go."

As Elsa turned to leave, James quipped, "And I assume that the council has approved of this?"

Elsa's body tensed up at the mention of her council, "They will."

* * *

Dawn was breaking as Annaliese opened the door to her suite and peeked out to see if anyone was out on deck. Just as she suspected, no one was out except for one man, Hans. She carefully smoothed out her form fitting light green dress that never failed to make her look alluring and gently brushed her loosely curled hair away from her face. With light steps, she nonchalantly made her way out onto the deck and toward Hans who was casually leaning against the ship's railing with his elbows resting on it while his face looked toward the sun rising on the horizon. "Good morning." Annaliese smiled as she quietly walked up to him.

"Huh?" Hans shook his head as he snapped out of the trance he was in, "Oh, good morning." He warmly smiled as he turned to face her, completely oblivious to her wardrobe, "Did you sleep alright?"

"Yeah, I guess. Given the circumstances." She shrugged as she rested her hip against the ship's railing, "So you're up early."

"Is that a question or a statement?"

Annaliese laughed as she playfully nudged him, "It's a conversation starter." She stopped laughing when she noticed the tired look on his face. She knew he was worried about leaving everyone back in Arendelle and it was pretty plain to see he had spent most of the night thinking about it. Her flirtatious attitude subsided as she rested her elbows on the railing and looked out at the ocean, "Were you thinking about Elsa?"

"Yeah…" Hans gave her a shy lopsided smile before looking out at the water, "You know it's weird. We've been married for over a year and whenever I'm away from her, I can't stop thinking about her. About the next time I'll see her again. I just crave to hear her voice or feel her hand in mine."

Annaliese genuinely smiled, "It's not weird. It just means you're in love." She glanced at Hans' handsome profile, "Trust me, I've been there before."

"Good morning, fellow travelers." Klaus chuckled as he strode up to them with a yawn, "How did we sleep?"

Hans smirked, "Has anyone ever told you that you snore? And I mean _snore_."

"Knock it off, Hansey. I don't snore." Klaus wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"Well, you could have fooled me." Hans chuckled at the annoyed look on his brother's face and he took that as an invitation to continue, "Now I know why Viktor never wanted to share a room with you when we had to pair up because of numerous visitors at the palace."

"I am the oldest and the heir. Therefore I deserve to have my own room-" Klaus suddenly stopped when he realized what Hans was doing and irritably shook his head in order to display his disapproval. He then fixed his attention to his sister-in-law, clearly taken in by her attractive apparel, "You look lovely today, Annaliese. Is that a new dress?"

"No, but I suppose it's new to you." She delicately laughed as she flirtatiously tossed a lock of hair over her shoulder, "You know I just realized that I never asked how things are back in the Southern Isles? Whatever happened to all of your brothers?"

"Ah, you know it's a funny thing you asked…" He placed his hand on the small of her back as he gently led her away from Hans and toward the direction of her suite, still continuing to talk.

Hans chuckled as he leaned back against the ship's railing and watched Annaliese get to work in gathering information from Klaus, "Oh my dear brother, you've always been a sucker for a pretty face."

* * *

It was almost eight in the morning as Elsa was anxiously fixing her appearance in the mirror before meeting with her council. She had just finished slipping on her navy blue dress when she sighed at her reflection, "Gerda? Can I ask you a question?"

Her trusted friend and lady-in-waiting was helping fasten the buttons on the back of her dress, "Of course I'll watch Henry for you."

"Thanks but that wasn't my question." A small smiled formed on Elsa's face as she handed her embarrassed friend her corset.

"Oh! I'm sorry. Please continue."

"Do you remember what you told me about forming my own council?"

"Yes." Gerda started tightening Elsa's corset.

"When do you think would be the best time to do that?"

Gerda stopped what she was doing and looked at Elsa through the mirror, "Whenever you think you are ready. Are you thinking about doing it soon?"

"Perhaps sooner than later." They quieted down when there was a knock at the door. Elsa smiled at the familiar sounding knock, "Come in, Anna."

The door opened a crack before Anna popped her head in, "I am still impressed that you can recognize my knock. I even tried to change the pattern this time."

Elsa laughed as she waved her in, "What can I do for you?"

Anna stepped further into the room and slowly closed the door behind her. She carried a confused look about her as she turned toward her sister and thoughtfully asked, "You can tell me what's going on. You didn't show up to breakfast."

"I had William bring my breakfast to my room." Elsa nonchalantly shrugged as she walked over to her vanity.

As Elsa walked away, Anna noticed the tray of empty dishes sitting on her bed, "Yeah I can see that. But my question is, why?"

"I have an early meeting with the council and I was running short on time." Elsa sat at her vanity and started brushing out her hair, "I ate while I got ready."

"Is that all?" Anna squinted her eyes at her sister's back.

"Yes. You can escort me to the meeting if you don't trust me."

"Nah, I trust you." Anna continued to wander around the room, "Where's Henry?"

"William is feeding him as we speak." Elsa placed her brush down and started twisting her hair into her signature bun.

"You know…" Anna sat on the bed so Elsa could see her in the mirror's reflection, "When you told Annaliese that you'd watch Henry, I'm pretty sure she thought that _you_ would be the one watching him."

"Annaliese is very aware that I am busy running a kingdom which means that I cannot simply drop everything and solely attend to her child." Elsa promptly placed her crown on her head and stared at Anna through the mirror, "Is there anything else you would like to question me on?"

Anna leaned back on her hands and tilted her head, "What's the meeting about?"

"Security."

"Are you finally going to tell them about what happened in London?"

"Maybe." Elsa stood with a sense of authority, "If the occasion calls for it."

Anna excitedly stood, "Do you need me to be there? I can help support your story-"

"That won't be necessary Anna." Elsa smiled at her eager sister as she headed for the door, "But thanks for the help."

"Help?" Anna followed as Elsa left the room, "What did I do?"

"You questioning me is a nice warm up for what the council will certainly do to me." Elsa absentmindedly rung her hands together in a nervous like manner as she took long strides down the hall. She knew what needed to get done and she was fully prepared to do whatever it takes to get her agenda done. She and Hans had a plan. And that plan required new weapons. Elsa slowed her steps as she approached the door that led to the assembly room. She had been so wrapped up in her thoughts that hearing Anna's voice startled her, "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

Anna casually leaned against the door, "I said if Hans was here, would he have joined you in your meeting?"

Elsa slightly hesitated, "I-I suppose so." When she saw Anna dejectedly lower her eyes, Elsa hastily added, "I mean, it would make sense to have the man in charge of the Arendelle military to be present at a meeting about Arendelle's security."

"Yeah, I guess so." Anna pushed herself off the door and crossed arms as she now defiantly stood in front of the door, promptly blocking her sister's way, "Elsa, when are you gonna start letting me help you with your duties? I mean, if something should happen to you, I have no knowledge on running this kingdom."

"Anna…" Elsa gently placed her hands on Anna's shoulders, "You make a valid point and you should start sitting in on these meetings-"

"Great!" Anna tried to turn and grab the door handle, but Elsa tightened her grip on her shoulders.

"And you can start once this situation has been settled." Elsa slowly moved Anna out of her way as she continued to talk in a calm voice, "I'm afraid that there are some details that you are not aware of and may not even like or agree with and I need the council to completely trust me." She smiled once Anna seemed to start giving in, "I promise that if all goes well with the meeting, I will tell you and Kristoff everything that is going on." Elsa's eyes flashed around the empty hallway with concern, "Speaking of your husband, where is he? You two are usually inseparable."

Anna rolled her eyes and blew some hair out of her eyes, "We're married. Not joined at the hip."

Elsa laughed as she gently nudged her sister down the hallway, "Go have some fun, Anna. Things may be taking a turn for the serious soon."

That comment seemed strange to Anna and as she opened her mouth to reply she heard the firm click of the door. When she spun around, she found that she was standing alone in the middle of the hall, scratching her head, "What?"

* * *

The assembly room instantly quieted as soon as Elsa stepped foot into the room and the strong click of the door sounded. All eyes were on her as she regally strode over to her seat at the head of the long table, keeping her chin up and her eyes fixated on nothing in particular. Everyone respectfully stood as they waited for the Queen of Arendelle to take her seat, the air thick with intrigue as the men all wondered why they had been called in for an impromptu meeting. Normally, the council was responsible for scheduling meetings with the royal family, unless there was an emergency that needed to be addressed immediately.

As Elsa took her rightful place at the table, she took an internal deep breath to calm the nerves before speaking in a clear voice, "Gentlemen, thank you for coming on such short notice. Please take your seats." As they sat down and anxiously fidgeted in their seats, Elsa clasped her hands together and placed them on table as a sign of control of both the meeting and her powers, "I'm sure you have all heard about Prince Hans returning to Southern Isles. Though, the reason behind his trip remained under wraps…until now." She coolly eyed the men seated at the table before continuing, "King Richard of Southern Isles has been shot by an unknown assailant-"

She was interrupted by the councilmen's concerned murmuring, but she wasn't about to let them change the pace of the meeting, "However…" Her confidently raised voice immediately settled down the apprehension in the room, much to her surprise. "I have received news that the assailant missed any vitals and King Richard is making a speedy recovery as we speak. Which brings up the reason for this impromptu meeting…security. Specifically, Arendelle's security."

Elsa took a quick pause to test the waters and see if the council had any immediate objections. But again, to her surprise, the men silently waited for the queen to continue, "About ten months ago, Prince Hans and I travelled to London where we signed an alliance with the Kingdom of Great Britain. Upon making that alliance, we witnessed the power and skill of the men who guard and protect their kingdom. Even more important, we realized how much our men lacked in both respects, power and skill. Since then, I placed Prince Hans, who was a former Admiral in the Southern Isles military, in charge of every aspect of the Arendelle military and we have seen extraordinary improvement in skill. However, it wasn't until this recent incident in the Southern Isles that made me realize that although our men have the skill, they still lack the power. And by power, I mean weapons. And by weapons, I mean guns."

With raised eyebrows, she paused as a sign to let them express their thoughts and concerns. Her palms briefly started to feel icy as the deafening silence in the room stretch for a few seconds, until one of the older councilmen let out a relieved sigh, "Your Majesty, we could not agree more."

It took every muscle in Elsa's tense body to keep her from showing her surprise, so the best she could do was put on a conservative smile, "That is good to hear. But I must inquire for more information about this agreement."

"Queen Elsa…" The older man looked around the table as if to seek affirmation from his colleagues, "We have been discussing the advancement of Arendelle's weapons long before you were born." A kind elderly smile spread across his face, "Your father, may he rest in peace, was very much against the idea of guns and since his reign consisted of no violent acts against Arendelle, we never pressed the issue." He methodically took off his glasses and began speaking in a more careful tone, "However, once you took the throne and news spread of your-um, _abilities_ …let's just say we've been expecting some challengers to rise up and take their shot at Arendelle."

Elsa furrowed her brow in confusion, "I understand what you're saying, but I never said that Arendelle was under attack." Although she knew what was really brewing beneath the surface, she had made sure that she didn't mention anything about Vortex or any threats against Arendelle.

This time another councilman, a slightly younger one at that, cleared his throat and meticulously propped his elbows onto the table, "Your Majesty, when an ally of ours has been attacked, it is safe to say that we will soon be called into action, either in defending our ally or perhaps even defending our own kingdom. With that being said, we believe your proposition of advancing Arendelle's weapons could not have come at a better time."

Elsa let a more genuine smile show as she felt good about the council's approval, "Well, I am glad that we have come to a relatively easy agreement." She felt a wave of relief wash over her when she stood as a sign that the meeting was coming to a close. She wanted it to get through this without having to mention anything about Vortex or Thomas Sullivan or James Jagger.

Just as she opened her mouth to conclude the meeting, another councilman hastily interrupted, "My apologies, Queen Elsa, but it seems that we have a plan without a plan of action. How do you suggest we make this advancement?"

Feeling somewhat defeated, Elsa rested her hands on the table without sitting back down as a way to make herself look bigger and more authoritative, "I have already sent out the request for materials yesterday and the building of a weapons lab is under construction as we speak."

The man understandingly nodded, "That is wonderful but who will we appoint to lead this operation? It is a big undertaking and we want to make sure we have the right man in charge-"

"I have already spoken with a man who agreed to work with us and I assure you, he is the best in the business." Elsa desperately hoped that her stern tone would diffuse any more questions, but unfortunately, it seemed to raise more interest.

"Who is it?" Another councilman questioned as the rest of the council leaned forward in their seats with intrigue.

Elsa's mind raced as she hastily weighed the pros and cons of telling them the truth, but when it came down to it, it was better to tell the unpopular truth than get caught in an ugly lie. Not to mention her unusually long hesitant pause already made her look a little suspicious. "James Jagger…I have recruited Mister Jagger to lead this operation." She desperately fought the urge to show any sort of apprehension by the council's stunned silence. Instead, she slightly raised her chin in a challenging manner and waited for the storm of questions that were sure to come, "Well?"

"Your Majesty…" Another councilman cautiously spoke as he readjusted his posture, "I do not understand why we cannot enlist someone from the Southern Isles? They are a close ally of ours and they have highly advanced weaponry. And ultimately, we can trust them."

Elsa internally cringed at the thought of entrusting Arendelle's military future in the hands of the Southern Isles. But despite her growing uneasiness, she had to convince the council that James was the right choice, "Gentlemen, I understand that the Southern Isles would be the _ideal_ choice. But given the stress the royal family is under and King Richard's request to keep all of his sons near him, we cannot wait and depend on them when we are on a critical timeline."

A couple more seconds of silence passed, until one brave man quietly pipped up, "Queen Elsa? Do you trust Mister Jagger?"

Without any hesitation, Elsa confidently answered, "I trust his work. I experienced it firsthand in London." She coolly eyed every man at the table, "He is the most suitable man for the job, believe me." When she noticed the councilmen questionably eyeing each other, she realized that they were really questioning if they trusted _her._ "You need to trust me."

The youngest member of the council, who was still 30 years older than Elsa, cleared his throat and slowly stood up from his chair as he locked eyes with the queen, "You came to the decision of advancing Arendelle's weapons without any of our influence. You came up with a plan of action without any of our help. Since the Great Thaw, you have always put the good of Arendelle first above all else." A small smile spread across his bearded face, "I think it's safe to say you have earned our trust and I for one would be interested in seeing your plan be put into action."

"Thank you." Elsa thankfully gave him a single nod before addressing the rest of the group, "Gentlemen? Are we in agreement?" Elsa held her breath as one by one, each councilman stood up and acknowledged their agreement for Elsa's plan. By the time the final acknowledgment was given, Elsa could feel a huge weight being lifted off her shoulders. "Well…" She gave them a small but genuine smile, "It seems that we have come to a unanimous decision. Meeting adjourned." The councilmen bowed as Elsa elegantly strode over to the door and exited the room. It wasn't until she firmly shut the door behind herself, that Elsa realized how much she had been holding her breath. The meeting had gone miraculously smooth and this wasn't even her best case scenario. She let out a well-deserved sigh of relief as a new worry surfaced, "I need to tell Anna."

* * *

 **Thank you for reading and being super patient with me! Please review and I will try to update in a couple weeks! Have a good weekend/week! :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi Everyone! I am super duper sorry about this forever long hiatus. I was busy with finals and getting things in order for my expected graduation at the end of the year. Sprinkle in a bit of writer's block and travelling over the holidays and time just flies! However, through it all, you all have been just amazing with your patience and support. I even received a few messages from concerned readers to see if I was still alive and well...which I am! Ultimately, you guys are the best and I am 100% thankful for you all! Now enough of my rambling, the next chapter is up and I hope you enjoy it! Happy Reading! :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 8**

As the sun set on the kingdom of Arendelle, Elsa anxiously waited in her seat at the dinner table with Henry happily bouncing on her jittery legs. She constantly checked the clock on the wall, dreading each second that ticked by. Whenever she was not looking at the clock she was staring at her hands, composing herself whenever she felt an icy urge come on. She tried to think logically, not emotionally, as she thought about how to compose the words she would use to tell Anna about the advancement of Arendelle's weapons. She strained to think of what Anna would retort but she continually drew a blank. The longer Elsa thought about it, the more she realized that if anyone were to have a problem with guns, it would be her. She was the one who saved Anna from getting shot by taking the bullet herself. She was the one who saved Eva from getting shot by killing Jeremiah before he could pull the trigger on her. She was the one who suffered from the nightmares that stemmed from these events. Elsa did not know if she should cry or laugh about this realization, but she did feel a tiny bit of relief. As she let out a cleansing breath, the dining room doors opened and the semi-newlyweds hurried in hand-in-hand. "Well…" Elsa lifted a stern eyebrow, "Look who finally showed up."

Anna wore an apologetic expression as she frantically shook her head and ran towards her seat, "Elsa, we are so so sorry. We were in the stables-"

"Nope." Elsa raised her hand to silence her hyperactive sister as she observed their haggard looks, "I don't need to know." She motioned for the staff to bring out their dinner and as they presented the meal, Elsa studiously observed Anna and Kristoff's appearance. Although they looked genuinely apologetic about being late to dinner, there were hints of giddiness in their behavior. It was not until Elsa noticed a piece of straw tucked in one of Anna's braids and another piece camouflaged in Kristoff's blonde hair that she figured out what delayed them. Once everything was set and the staff disappeared, Elsa tried to hide her teasing smile, "Well, I hope you two had fun."

"What?" Kristoff and Anna responded at the same time.

"You know…rolling in the hay." Elsa took a sip from her glass in order to hide her smile.

The couple looked at each other with horrified expressions on their faces until Kristoff noticed the straw in Anna's hair. "Anna…" He subtly motioned at her hair.

Anna looked down and immediately blushed as she slowly pulled the straw out, "I can explain."

"There really isn't much to explain. Nor do I want you to." Elsa laughed as she wiped some food off of Henry's chin.

"So, uh, how was the meeting?" Kristoff anxiously took a quick swig of water as he desperately tried to change the subject, "Anna told me that it seemed kind of important?"

"Yes…" Elsa hesitated as she gathered her courage, "You two know why Hans and I agreed for him to go back home with his brother. And you two know that Hans and I have a plan for all of this. But I have yet to inform you of that plan." Elsa stopped fidgeting with Henry and refocused her attention to Kristoff and Anna, "The council and I have come to the decision to build newer, better, and more advanced weaponry for Arendelle."

Anna furrowed her brows together in confusion, "Because?"

"Because we are in dire need of an upgrade, Anna. It is clearly evident when we compare our weapons to those of Great Britain and the Southern Isles."

"And Vortex." Kristoff quietly muttered loud enough for them to hear.

Elsa curtly nodded, "Exactly. Which is why…" She shifted her gaze down at Henry and softly mumbled, "I enlisted James Jagger to lead the project."

"What?" Anna leaned forward and cocked her head with intrigue, "What did you just say?"

Elsa hoped that the more confident she seemed about her decision, the least likely Anna would question it. So with an internal cleansing breath, she looked up and locked eyes with her sister before continuing with a clear decisive tone, "I enlisted James Jagger to lead the project."

"That's what I thought you said." Anna slumped back into her seat with a numb expression and all was quiet for about five seconds until Anna leaped out of her seat, "What is the council thinking?! Do they seriously think that entrusting James with something this important is a good idea?!"

"Anna-"

"Do they not know what his work has done to this family?! To you?! You were shot by one of his 'inventions' and they want him to make _more_?!"

"Anna-"

Anna violently shook her head, "No! Nuh-uh! I am going to speak to them myself and we will figure out a different plan-"

"Anna! This _is_ the plan!" Elsa was startled by how loud her voice sounded and she immediately regretted it when she saw her sister recoil, "I'm sorry, but this is the plan. _Our_ plan."

Elsa watched as her sister briefly shook her head in disbelief followed by a hurt expression, "Is this why you didn't want me at the meeting?"

"Yes." Elsa managed to quietly reply as she felt a lump form in her throat, "I needed the council to trust me and I couldn't afford you reacting like this during the meeting."

"I'm not a child, Elsa. I can control myself." She abruptly sat back down and rested her elbows on the table as she distraughtly stared into her food, "I can't believe you still don't trust me. I thought we were past all this secrecy when we finally opened the gates. But I guess nothing's changed."

Elsa tried to keep her composure despite the tears stinging her eyes, "Anna you're not being fair-"

"I've been waiting for an open relationship with you since we were kids. And every time I think we've achieved that, you surprise me with more secrets that you've been keeping from me. When are the secrets and lies going to finally end?" She rested her chin on her propped up elbows and finally managed to meet her sister's troubled eyes, "What else are you keeping from me?"

"I…" Elsa adjusted her grip on her nephew who was happily making a mess with his food, completely oblivious to the conflict at hand, "I am a self-taught swordsman." That wasn't what Anna or Kristoff were expecting to hear as Kristoff froze mid-bite and Anna's arms almost gave out from under her. When neither of them immediately responded, Elsa cautiously continued, "I have made plans to teach both of you how to fight with swords. Eventually, when the guns are battle ready, we will all learn how to use them alongside our military." Elsa nervously bite her lip as she waited for them to respond.

"Wow…" Anna shook her head in disbelief, "I'm not gonna lie, I was not expecting to hear that." She slowly sat back in her chair and adjusted her composure, "So you know how to fight with a sword?"

"Yes." Elsa nervously drummed her fingers against Henry's tummy, making him giggle.

Anna glanced over at Kristoff, who was still frozen at mid-bite, before returning her gaze to her sister, "And you're going to teach us?"

"We start tomorrow."

Anna remained silent for a few seconds before a small smile spread across her lips, "That's kinda cool."

Elsa couldn't hide the surprise she felt, "Really? You're not mad?"

"Meh, I'm a little mad that you've kept this from me as well as everything else but…" She glanced at Kristoff's stunned expression again before straightening her posture a bit more, "I'm ready to fight."

* * *

As the second day out at sea came to an end for the voyagers travelling to the Southern Isles, the sun had set a couple hours ago, dinner had be served and eaten, and most of the crew had gone to bed. The cool autumn air filled the ship's sails as the waves rhythmically rocked the boat at a gentle pace. Hans stepped out of his cabin and took in a deep breath of the clean sea air that he loved so much. With a smile on his face, he calmly strode across the deck with his eyes casted upward at the shimmering stars above. Although it would seem that his mind was occupied, he got the feeling that someone had just sneaked up behind him. With a nonchalant sigh, he suddenly turned around and grabbed the person's wrist with one hand while his other hand forcefully swung toward the side of their head, abruptly stopping when he recognized the person. "Annaliese…" He huffed out a sigh mixed with frustration and relief, "You caught me off guard. Not a lot of people can do that."

"Well, I am not like a lot of people." Annaliese smirked as he still held her wrist and his fist was gently resting against the side of her head, "So are we going to talk like this or are you going to let go?"

"Oh yeah…" He immediately dropped his arms and chuckled in embarrassment, "Sorry."

"Mhmm…" She looked around and noticed that a couple of night crewmen were staring. In response to the attention, she relaxed her posture and sloppily stumbled into him, "Oops!" She laughed loudly as she drunkenly pressed her finger into his chest, "Ooohh well…excuse me sir, but you're in my way."

As she stumbled backwards, Hans swiftly reached out to keep her from falling, "Annaliese, are you drunk?"

"Nuh-uh!" She dramatically shook her head, followed by a loud hiccup.

"Right, I'm going to take you to your room."

Annaliese gave him an exaggerated up and down glance, "You can take wherever you want, handsome." She laughed loudly again, "Ha! _Han_ dsome! Get it?"

"Yes, very clever." Hans rolled his eyes as he gently led her to her room.

As they passed a couple of the night crewman, Annaliese drunkenly smiled at them, "I called him handsome, 'cause his name is Hans…get it? I just made that up!"

The men politely smiled and nodded as Hans hastily opened her door and dragged her inside. Once they stepped foot into her cabin, he swiftly closed the door behind them and locked it, "Well played, my dear friend."

Annaliese straightened her posture with a smile, "Thank you. Nice job picking up on the façade." She continued to speak as she walked behind her changing screen.

Hans continued to stare at the door in order to give her privacy, "Thanks. But listen, I know what you were doing and I understand that the crew was staring but …" He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, "It doesn't look good on my part if a drunk can sneak up on me."

Annaliese rolled her eyes as she slipped her robe on over her nightgown, "In my defense, none of that would have happened if you didn't go all defensive assassin on me."

"I couldn't help it. You snuck up on me." Hans tried to shake that strange sensation of being caught off guard, especially by someone he's known almost his entire life.

"Again, I am sorry about that." She stepped out from behind the changing screen and laughed at Hans' position, "You can stop facing the door. You look like you're in trouble or something."

"If my brothers caught wind of this, I would be in trouble." Nevertheless he turned around and when he laid eyes on Annaliese's skimpy nightgown and robe, he let out an irritated sigh, "Really? That's what you're going to wear?"

Annaliese firmly placed her hands on her hips and scowled, "I'm sorry I wasn't aware that you had final say on my wardrobe-"

"What's that?" Hans squinted towards her.

"What now?" She impatiently sighed followed by another eye roll, "Is my hair out of place too?"

"No…" He took a couple large strides across the room until he was only inches away from her, "This…" He carefully examined her neck and gently ran his fingertips down it until he rested it on a dark bruise slightly hidden by her robe. "Annaliese, what is this?"

"Hm?" She was mildly distracted by Hans' closeness and his gentle caress.

Hans furrowed his brow once he realized what it was, "Who did this to you?" When she didn't answer, he knew exactly who did this. His face grew dark as his voice grew in intensity, "Klaus?"

Annaliese took a step back with a bit of shame on her face, "I'm not proud of it, but I got the information we wanted."

A familiar internal fury snapped within him as he turned to leave, "That's it. I'm going to kick his-"

"Hans, stop!" She grabbed his arm and forcefully pulled him back, "Nothing happened. I'm fine, honest." She tightly held her grip on him in fear that he would go ballistic like he did back when he first found out that she was engaged to Kendrick. "Remember the plan. We need to stay on everyone's good side." When the fire in his eyes seemed to extinguish, she slowly released his arm, "Are you going to be okay?"

"No." He closed his eyes in resentment and let out a fatigued sigh, "But I guess I have no choice." He opened his eyes and kindly led her to the bed so that she could sit and relax while he pulled up a chair to the bed's edge. "Alright so…" He casually leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms, "What did you find out?"

* * *

Anxiety and stressed pulsed through Elsa's veins as she stood alone in Arendelle's two story armory, observing the impressively large assortment of outdated weaponry hanging on the walls and on the stand-up racks. The armory was one of the largest rooms in the castle, only falling short to the ballroom. Not only did the armory house all of Arendelle's weapons, but it also hosted all of the guards' everyday armor along with their formal battle armor plus a decently sized padded sparring arena. During her shut-in years, whenever she grew stir-crazy in her room, this is where she would come and spend quite a few hours teaching herself the art of sword fighting. She would time her practice sessions between the changing of guards so that no one would find the young proper princess swinging a sword around like an eager young boy trying to impress his father. Even to this day, none of the guards had any knowledge of the Queen's swordsmanship abilities nor have they ever seen the young queen even step foot into the armory. But all of that was about to change. It had to change. With Hans gone, Elsa was inadvertently the face of the military and she needed to gain an experienced reputation among her troops in order for them to fully trust her weapons advancement idea.

A small sigh escaped from her lips as the clock struck nine and like clockwork, the doors to the armory opened and the guards from the night shift entered the armory after being relieved of their long 8 hour shift. One by one each guard paused as they entered the room and caught sight of their Queen, stumbling into each other in confusion by her uncommon presence. Finally after what seemed like forever, the Captain of the Royal Guard pushed through the crowd and stepped forward with a look of impatience, "What seems to be going on here-oh!" When he noticed Elsa's presence, he immediately stood at attention and respectfully bowed, "Your Majesty."

"At ease, Captain." Elsa authoritatively nodded.

The Captain looked back at his men and yelled in an aggravated tone, "What is wrong with you men? Do you not see Her Royal Majesty? Stand at attention!" At the sound of their captain's command, the group immediately stood at attention.

Again, Elsa nodded with authority, "At ease, gentlemen."

The men relaxed and the Captain scrutinized their weary appearances before firmly nodding his head, "As you were. Go get some rest." Slowly, one by one, the men broke from their trance and continued their daily routine as they shed their armor and put it away, with the exception of their weapons. Hans made a policy change in that all guards should have a weapon on them at all times in case of unexpected crises. As the night shift guards began to exit the room, the Captain turned back to Elsa, "As nice as it is to see you, my Queen, I have to admit that you caught me and my men off guard by your presence. Tell me, is something the matter?"

"Yes and no." Elsa led him further away from the main hustle and bustle, "Captain, in a few minutes Anna and Kristoff are going to come in here and I am going to give them a lesson on sword fighting. I would like you to be here to supervise and also aid me in instructing them. I may be a bit rusty."

"Of course, Your Majesty…" He dutifully nodded but Elsa could sense his hesitation.

"You have a concern, Captain?"

The Captain carefully glanced around before lowering his voice, "Permission to speak freely, My Queen?"

"Granted. What seems to be the problem?"

"Queen Elsa, would it not make more sense if I gave Prince Kristoff a lesson?"

"As opposed to me teaching them both?" She understandingly nodded, "Well, I suppose…"

The Captain's body language seemed a bit uncomfortable as he cleared his throat, "Perhaps more along the lines of solely teaching Prince Kristoff instead of both him and the princess."

Elsa furrowed her brow, "Not teach Anna? Why?"

"Your Majesty, with all due respect, if Arendelle should find itself at war, you and the Princess would not be among those on the battlefield."

"What if the Kingdom of Arendelle finds itself _as_ the battlefield?"

"Then my men and I will do everything in our power to keep you and the Princess safe. There is no need for you to fight, Your Majesty."

Elsa cocked a challenging eyebrow, "How about when you and Hans led a troop of men to my ice castle and two of Weseltown's goons tried to kill me? As I recall, knowing how to defend myself turned out to be quite useful."

Speechless and embarrassed by the memory of that incident, the Captain lowered his head and nodded apologetically, "Forgive me, my Queen, for it is my job to keep you and Princess Anna safe."

Elsa gave him a soft smile, "I understand that, Captain, however sheltering us is not the answer."

"Yes, Your Majesty." He straightened his posture and regained his composure, "It would be an honor to assist you in teaching Prince Kristoff and Princess Anna."

"Thank you." Elsa kindly replied as the doors to the armory opened while Anna and Kristoff stepped into the armory.

"Well would ya take a look at this place?! It's huge!" Anna's mouth gaped open as she spun around while trying to take everything in.

"You've never been in your own kingdom's armory?" Kristoff chuckled at her wide-eyed expression.

"I wasn't allowed in here when I was little and I never wanted to disobey Mama and Papa, even after their deaths." Anna noticed Elsa and the Captain standing out of the way together and hurried over to them, "Everything alright?"

"Yes, we were just waiting for you." Elsa smiled as she turned her attention to her brother-in-law, "Captain Stephen will be joining us and he will be mainly focused on training you, Kristoff."

"Uhh, alright." Kristoff anxiously scratched the back of his neck, "But let me warn you, I am not a military man, nor am I that agile."

"Your Highness, it is my job to turn you into an agile swordsman and with a physique like yours, it should come very easily. Now come with me…" He motioned for Kristoff to follow him as he made his way over to one the sword racks.

As the two men walked away, Elsa turned and refocused her attention on Anna, "And as you may have guessed, I will be mainly focused on training you."

"This is so exciting!" Anna obediently followed her sister as they headed toward another rack of weapons, "And who knows? This could possibly turn into another fun sister bonding activity."

Elsa carefully scrutinized the weapons that were displayed before her, "Okay, rule number one, take this seriously. Everything that you are going to learn may one day save your life. This is not fun and games. This is life and death."

"Yeah, okay, got it." Anna nonchalantly shrugged as she ran her finger over the blade of one of the displayed weapons. Unconvinced by her sister's tone, Elsa glanced over at Anna and gave her a parental glare that caused Anna to instantly pull her hand back, "I mean, yes, I understand."

"Good. Now…" Elsa presented Anna with her starter sword, "Shall we begin?"

* * *

The darkness of the night was slowly giving way to the light of the sun as dawn was quickly approaching. Thoroughly exhausted, Annaliese and Hans finally finished going over all of the information that Klaus had leaked to Annaliese. As Hans stood up and headed for the door, mentally preparing himself for the short nap he was in desperate need of, a knocking sounded on Annaliese's door which startled the two fatigued collaborators. Annaliese stood up and hurried to the door, swiftly pushing Hans behind it so whoever was at the door could not see him. Tightening her robe, Annaliese opened the door a crack to find Klaus already dressed for the day, "Klaus? What are you doing here? And so early I might add."

"Sorry for the inconvenient hour but I have just been informed that we are approaching the Southern Isles and we will be docking shortly."

"Funny how you have _just_ been informed and yet, here you are already dressed."

"Well, if Hansey had returned to our cabin then he would have known as well and he could have told you. But it seems that he is nowhere to be found."

"Did you check-"

"I've looked everywhere except your cabin, Annaliese." Klaus tried to look behind her into the room, but the door was not opened enough to get a good look, "Which by the way you're acting could only mean that my assumptions are true." He gave her a suggestive smile as he took in her skimpy robe and nightgown, "Any chance that my baby brother spent the night with you?"

"I did." Hans stepped out from behind the door and opened it more so that Klaus could take a good look at him, "But it's not what you think."

"No, it's exactly what I think." Klaus chuckled as he winked at his brother, "Don't worry, I won't tell Elsa."

"There is nothing to tell." Hans deeply frowned as he disapprovingly crossed his arms, "If you would take your mind out of the sewer for just one second and actually talked to the night crewmen, you would know that I stayed with Annaliese all night because she was not feeling well."

Klaus lifted a skeptical eyebrow, "Really? What happened?"

Annaliese let out an embarrassed laugh, "I may or may not have had a little too much to drink. Fortunately, I ran into Hans while I was on deck and he helped me get back to my room. I guess I was pretty messed up since he decided to stay and take care of me."

"Huh…" Klaus carefully analyzed Annaliese and Hans' haggard appearances which unfortunately for him, supported their story. "Just get dressed you two, you look awful." Annaliese stepped out of the way so that Hans could exit her cabin while Klaus turned and resumed his rounds. "Lieutenant!"

One of the men from the night crew hurried over to them, "What is it, Your Highness?"

Klaus waited as he watched Hans hurry across the deck to get to their room and Annaliese close her door before continuing, "Status report during your shift last night."

"All was normal except…"

"Except?" Klaus leaned in with intrigue.

"Well, Miss Annaliese had a drunken encounter with Prince Hans but he helped her back to her room and took care of her."

"I see…thank you, Lieutenant, you are dismissed." Klaus impatiently tapped his foot as he tried to find holes in Hans and Annaliese's story, but everything seemed to check out. It was one thing for them to come up with this story together, but to have the night crew in on it was a little far-fetched. Still, he made a mental note to keep a closer eye on the two friends as they got ready to step foot into the Kingdom of the Southern Isles.

* * *

"Welcome back to the Southern Isles, Prince Hans. Please, watch your step."

Hans briefly glanced at the greeter with a forced smile, "Thanks." He hated the way everyone was treating him so differently now that he had married Elsa and inherited one of the most prestigious kingdoms in the region. Just two years ago he was mentally and physically abused by not only his father and brothers but by everyone in the Southern Isles. And now, as he walked side-by-side with his brother, everyone he passed made an effort to stop what they are doing and warmly greet the King Consort of Arendelle. But despite his quickly growing irritated mood, some of which was due to the lack of sleep, he had a job to do and he knew that the sooner he got it done, the sooner he would be on his way back to Arendelle, to Elsa. _Elsa…_ He thought as he stepped foot into the castle courtyard. _Whatever happens during my stay here, just remember that all of this is necessary to achieve a secure future with the woman I love._

Hans took an internal deep breath as the third eldest brother, Simon, trotted down the castle steps and proudly greeted them, "Welcome home, dear brothers!" He still looked exactly the same as when Hans was first shipped back to Arendelle to receive judgment. His dark red hair was neatly split down the middle and combed back as his signature Westergard sideburns blended into a neatly trimmed beard that warmed the skin surrounding his lips. His tall, six-foot-two, well-built frame still made Hans feel slightly intimidated but that feeling quickly disappeared when Simon gave them a warm smile as he gave each brother a sturdy but friendly handshake, "You two made it just in time for breakfast."

"Simon…" Hans addressed his brother as he stepped aside to reveal Annaliese who had been quietly walking behind them the entire time, "You remember Annaliese."

"Of course! Kendrick's wife!" He smiled proudly as he respectfully bowed and kissed her hand, "You are looking beautiful as ever, milady. Tell me, where is my brother, Kendrick?"

"He's dead." Klaus bluntly interrupted, "He has been for about a year now."

The shock on Simon's face as nothing short of genuine surprise, "Wh-what happened?" He forcefully shook his head, "I'm…so sorry to hear that. Does Father know?"

Klaus' stoic expression was quite uncomforting, "What do you think? _I_ didn't even know until I was blindsided by Annaliese's presence in Arendelle."

"Hmm…well, I would like to put off this news until after breakfast. Upsetting the rest of the family will do us no good. We need everyone working to their best abilities."

"That doesn't mean much if you really think about the talent pool of our family." Hans' exhaustion and irritation were wearing thin on his patience, so much so that his thoughts turned into an unintentional quip.

The two brothers and Annaliese all turned to him in astonishment, but the silence was broken by the sound of Simon's booming laughter, "Oh, Hansey, how I've missed your wit. Our conversations at the table have been falling quite flat without your presence." He threw a friendly arm around Hans' shoulders as he led the trio inside, "Now, I must be honest with you, we have all been dying to learn the inside scoop about living with Elsa. Is it as terrible as we can possibly imagine?"

"Oh wow, gosh…" Hans clenched his teeth as he ducked his head and gave it a stern shake, "Well, let me just say this: they don't called her the 'Ice Queen' for nothing."

Simon's eyes crinkled in the same way their father's does when he laughs, "Say no more! I want to hear the rest of this over some breakfast with the rest of the family. This sounds like it is going to be juicy." As they approached the dining room doors, Simon abruptly stopped and turned around to give Annaliese a concerned look, "If anyone questions the absence of Kendrick via your presence, it will be _your_ job to explain what happened to our brother."

* * *

 **Here we go! This story is really starting to take off! Thanks again for your immeasurable patience and please review! Have an awesome weekend! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm AAAALLLLIIIIVVVVEEEE! Hi everyone! I am so sorry about taking so long to update, but...blah, blah, blah...life is busy...blah, blah, blah...you've heard it all already. Bottom line, the next chapter is up. Yay! But in all seriousness, thank you all for being so kind and patient and understanding and caring and supportive. Basically, you all deserve an award and I hope my next chapter will suffice. Since it's been so long, I will gladly give you guys a quick rundown about what's happening. Again, thank you and enjoy the next chapter. Happy Reading! :)**

 **Summary:**

Elsa received permission, by unanimous vote, to begin her and Hans' plan of constructing new weapons for Arendelle with James Jagger leading this project. Elsa has also confronted Anna and Kristoff about the new weapons being made and Jagger's involvement. At first, Anna and Kristoff were quite hesitant, however, after Elsa revealed some more hidden secrets about her past, including her skills in sword fighting, the couple is starting to grow to accept it. The Captain of the Royal is in charge of teaching Kristoff and Elsa is in charge of teaching Anna, despite the Captain's concern. Meanwhile, while Hans, Annaliese, and Klaus were travelling to the Southern Isles, Annaliese managed to flirtatiously gather information from Klaus and she accidentally caught Hans off-guard while he was taking an evening stroll on deck. As a cover, Annaliese faked it as a drunken encounter and Hans stayed in her room overnight in order to "take care of her" but instead he and Annaliese discussed the information she gathered. Klaus has started to grow suspicious of the two friends, but they have cleverly covered all of their tracks, therefore he has no evidence against them. Now, the trio have returned to the Southern Isles just in time for breakfast and have been greeted by the third eldest brother, Simon. However, Hans and Annaliese are both running on no sleep and Simon as cleverly threatened Annaliese in telling the rest of the brothers about Kendrick's death (and the lie about their lack of children) during the breakfast they are on their way to attending.

 **Chapter 9**

Thoughts raced through Hans' mind as his brother, Simon, backhandedly threatened his best friend. How could he be so polite and respectful to Annaliese one moment and then subtlety putting her on the hot seat the next? But what surprised Hans the most was the calm and composed nod Annaliese produced, her façade not faltering one bit. It seemed strange how he had known her all his life, yet her recent behavior was not completely herself. He made a mental note to check on her later and ask her what was going on. But right now he had his own problems to worry about.

The dining room doors opened and Simon placed his hands on Hans' shoulders from behind and directed his youngest brother inside, "Look who finally came home!" He announced with a chuckle as they stepped into the room and paused as Hans observed the long table that was full with both food and family company. With a quick scan of the occupied seats, Hans could tell that he was the last brother to arrive and not only that, but he noticed that the last unoccupied seats sat at opposite ends of the long table meaning that he and Annaliese would be seated at separate ends. He didn't realize how nervous he was until all eyes landed on the 'unlucky' thirteenth prince and a strange silence hung in the air.

The silence was broken as his second eldest brother, Viktor, stood up with a beaming smile that reminded Hans of their mother, "Welcome home, Hans!" The rest of his brothers shouted their cheers of welcome and approval as if Hans had just returned from singlehandedly overtaking an entire kingdom…probably because in their mind, he did. However, he could not believe that all of this pomp and circumstance stemmed from his marriage to Elsa, but then again, they were not aware of any of his other recent accomplishments so that had to be it.

Hans watched in amazement as Viktor happily strode over to Hans and gave him a hearty handshake, beaming with pride and warmth, "My God, it has been too long since we last saw each other. How are you doing, my dear brother?"

It took every ounce of self-control inside Hans to keep from throwing a punch or yelling words of anger at his hypocritical brothers, but he knew he had a mission and right now it required him to play nice. So he dug deep and searched for the cold hearted manipulator that had been in hibernation since his adventure in Sperca. "Viktor…" Hans' voice was smooth and genuine as he accepted his brother's warm welcome, "I have been living a life of luxury that almost makes being married to Elsa worth it."

The dining hall erupted with his brothers' laughter at his snarky remark followed by the sudden bombardment of his brothers as the rest of them stood up from their spots at the table and rushed to properly greet him with unusual warmth and praise. All of this attention stirred both disgust and amusement within Hans as he watched how humbled his brothers acted towards him. And then it hit him…he was the only Southern Isles Prince that had actually married into a kingship. All of his brothers were married to princesses that have not yet inherited the throne, even Klaus was on stand-by until their father finally stepped down or passed away. In a strange moment of realization, Hans finally understood why they were acting excessively welcoming…he, the youngest of the thirteen royal princes of the Southern Isles, possessed the highest amount of power and authority. Although their actions disgusted him, he could not help but find this newfound respect thrilling and merited.

Being so caught up in the moment, Hans almost forgot about Annaliese. As he continued to revel in his brothers' praise, he casually glanced around the room in search of his best friend. Finally, he spotted her still standing by the doors with Klaus standing intimidatingly close to her, almost as if he was keeping her from entering the dining hall. "Gentlemen…" Hans' voice boomed in a clear and confident tone, "I must say that I am aghast to receive such a warm welcome however we must not be rude in forgetting to welcome the last member of our search team." Hans broke away from his crowd of brothers as he strode over to Annaliese and Klaus. As he held out his hand to Annaliese, he noticed that Klaus had a stiff hand wrapped around her arm, but with a hard look from Hans, Klaus reluctantly let go. Annaliese gratefully accepted Hans' hand and let him lead her further into the room as he graciously presented her to the group of royal siblings, "You all remember Annaliese. Queen of Sperca?" Annaliese let a small smile crack her stoic expression as Hans made sure to remind his brothers of her higher authority.

As if on cue, the assembly of princes all properly bowed and acknowledged her presence, following their required etiquette when meeting a royal of higher status. Hans took this moment to explain the reasoning behind her attendance, "Queen Annaliese as selflessly volunteered her time and energy in our efforts in catching this man. She has grown up here with us and is well known and loved by the commoners of our kingdom. She has sources that we could only dream of. It would have been quite foolish to reject her help."

One by one each brother nodded in agreement as they acknowledged the benefit of her presence along with praising the idea of accepting her help. Annaliese just smiled and nodded until the babbling had ceased. Then with a quick glance at the table, she pointedly gestured towards the food, "Gentlemen, let us not waste this feast that is stretch out before us."

Now, that was a plan the princes could get behind as they fumbled back to their seats in hungry agreement. As seats were being filled, Hans subtly linked hands with Annaliese, making sure to keep her near him so that they would not be seated too far away from each other.

"Hans!" He turned around to find Viktor standing by the head of the table, waving his arm above his head, "Come sit by me."

Hans reluctantly moved towards the head of the table, his hand still firmly grasped around Annaliese's. By where Viktor was standing, Hans figured that his brother would sit at the head of the table while he would sit on either side of him. However as he approached the chair, Viktor graciously pulled out the seat at the head of the table, leaving Hans a little perplexed, "Viktor, this is not my normal seat."

His brother lightly chuckled, "I know but since you hold the highest authority in the room, you get to sit in father's seat. That is how the order of authority works, Hans." Before Hans could protest, Viktor swiftly grabbed Annaliese's free hand and began leading her away from Hans, "Of course, we will show you the same respect, Queen Annaliese." Hans' pulse quickened as he realized where Viktor was taking her…the opposite head of the table. He did not know if this was planned or if Viktor legitimately was doing what he thought was right, but unfortunately he and Annaliese were sitting as far away from each other as possible. Even worse, he could clearly see that Klaus was not happy in seeing that Annaliese would be taking his seat. The spoiled first born had never sat on the side of the table since their mother's "death" and now here he was being moved by a woman who used to serve and clean up after them. The irony of it all actually made Hans smile as he ducked his head and took his seat while Viktor made his way back to his seat on Hans' left while Klaus took the seat on Hans' right.

"Wipe that smirked off your face, Hansey." Klaus quietly hissed as he scooted his chair in and placed the napkin on his lap, "They won't be so kind once _she_ tells them what happened to Kendrick." Hans only casted a hard look in his brother's direction as a response.

Once everyone had filled their plates and everything settled down, Simon stood while clinking his glass with his spoon, "Brothers, and sister-in-law…" He playfully bowed his head in Annaliese's direction, making her smile as Simon continued his speech, "Although we have been brought together by an unfortunate incident, let us cherish this valuable time together. For it has been years since we have all gathered in this castle and dined at this table, and it may be years before we all gather together again. Therefore I would like to make a toast to this family and its many successes, along with a toast for our father…may he make a hasty recovery and may we bring this son of a-"

"Ahem." Viktor, who was seated beside Simon, violently cleared his throat and disapprovingly shook his head as he glanced over at Annaliese.

Simon ducked his head in embarrassment, "My apologies…" He lifted his head once more and timidly continued, "May be bring this assailant to justice and make him pay for his crimes against our family."

"Here! Here!" All of the brothers enthusiastically shouted with lifted glasses, followed by the routine drink. As the dining hall filled with small talk and chatter, Hans inconspicuously took attendance of those at the table and realized that not only was Kendrick missing, for obvious reasons, but also Gregory, his brother that loaned Hans and Elsa his home in London and who also got caught up in the Vortex incident during their honeymoon, was nowhere to be seen. This slightly disappointed Hans since he had hoped that he and Gregory could combine their knowledge of Vortex in order to help speed up the search.

Viktor had noticed the concerned look forming on his baby brother's face and watched as his eyes scanned the faces of those in attendance, "Everything okay, Hans?"

Hans snapped out of his thoughts as he redirected his attention to his brother, "Yes, but I am perplexed by the absence of Gregory…" He leaned closer to Viktor and slightly lower his voice, his face filled with genuine concern, "He isn't in any trouble is he?"

"Well…" Viktor reciprocated Hans' behavior, leaning towards him and speaking in hushed tones, "As a matter of fact, when we sent him the letter to come join us, we received a strange letter from the British Parliament saying that Gregory was under investigation for terrorism and that he was currently living under house arrest."

Hans deeply furrowed his brows together in confusing, making sure to put up a convincing façade, "What? That's absurd."

"That is what we thought but there is nothing we can do. We just get to sit back and watch this fall to our advantage."

Now Hans was genuinely confused, "How do you figure this will benefit the Southern Isles?"

Viktor smiled as he thoughtfully rubbed his goatee, "Sooner or later they will realize that Gregory is innocent and they will feel ashamed for every misconducted action they took upon him. Then we will finally get the alliance we have been waiting for. Gregory will no longer have to act as a liaison between our two kingdoms and he could finally come home." Viktor took a hearty bite out of his toast, "So…how are things on your end? The Arendelle sisters treating you well?"

From the ease of the conversation with his elder brother, Hans was almost tempted to tell Viktor some stretches of truth however his instinct was telling him to keep his guard up. So with a casual shrug, Hans reached for his drink and haughtily looked into his glass as he nonchalantly twirled the liquid inside, "Well, they treat me as if I'm one of their own, which is quite foolish if you ask me. You know, considering the history we have." He took a long sip from the glass and then put it down before looking at his brother again, "The sisters are so naïve that it is almost too easy. Like taking candy from a baby."

Viktor chuckled, "From what I've heard, a beautiful baby." He leaned forward with intrigue, "What's Elsa like? I've only heard rumors and read news articles about her. Is she really as beautiful as everyone says?"

It took Hans every muscle in his body not to smile like a love sick child, so much so that he had to clench one of his fists under the table to keep his cool composure. So in response, Hans casually shrugged again as he pretended to find his food more interesting, "I suppose on first impressions. But once you see all the sides of someone, they look completely different." Hans was actually quite proud of his answer being that he was running on no sleep.

Viktor nodded understandingly as he lowered his eyes and returned to his own breakfast, "You know, once this is all over…perhaps I could, I don't know…visit?"

Hans gave his brother a subtle side glance, partly in surprise and partly in suspicion. As much as Hans tried to think badly about his brothers, Viktor genuinely seemed bashful about the invitation which caught him off guard. So many first time moments were occurring, this is the first time that Hans actually had this long of a conversation with his brother and this is the first time that anyone of his brothers, let alone one of the eldest, actually asked his permission for something.

Viktor glanced up from his food and upon seeing the hesitant and conflicted look on Hans' face, he quickly lowered his eyes again and briefly shook his head, "You know what? Never mind. I'm sure you have a lot of other things on your plate to worry about-"

"I'll think about it." Hans suddenly said, much to his own surprise. He knew that he had changed since spending so much time with his Arendelle family, but he worried that he may have gone _too_ soft, he needed to put up a convincing façade after all. However, the look of sincere hope and excitement on his brother's face made Hans believe that this invitation was quite sincere and off the record. Maybe his brothers were not so bad after all.

"Hey Hansey!" Jefferson, the oldest of the five youngest princes, shouted from his seat that was much too far from Hans to be socially acceptable. But nonetheless, he continued to shout across the table, "We were just discussing this the other day and we wanted your input." Hans did not feel like shouting back so he just lifted a curious eyebrow and nodded in his direction. A naughty grinned flashed on Jefferson's face as he eyed his youngest brother, "How is Elsa in the _personal_ aspects of your marriage? 'Cause you know, being the Queen of Ice and Snow must certainly come with some benefits and drawbacks."

Many, if not most, of Hans' brothers were already chuckling at the comment. Immediately, Hans' pulse quickened as anger pulsated through his body. Fortunately for Hans, he knew his brothers too well and figured that they would be vulgar about his and Elsa's relationship. So much so, that he already had a response prepared for such an occasion.

As Hans took a deep breath and opened his mouth to respond, another one of the younger siblings, Charles to be exact, briskly cut him off,

"Jeffery, you know that's an inappropriate question to ask." Hans let out an internal sigh of relief that at least one of his brothers finally came to his defense. However, his grateful attitude diminished when Charles started to play with the tips of his long handlebar mustache, his glance falling back over at Hans, "Is it not obvious that our dear baby brother has not had a lot of personal relations with his wife?"

Jefferson narrowed his eyes at Charles, "And how did you come up with that conclusion?"

Anger was starting to build up inside Hans again as it became clear that this pseudo argument was a set up to humiliate him and Elsa. He could feel his exhaustion finally taking a toll on him as the strength to hold his tongue grew weaker by the second. But he had to take whatever childish remarks they were going to make because he had a mission, he had to stay on everyone's good side. Hans held his breath as he noticed the shifty look in Charles' eyes, one that Hans knew from experience which was never a good sign. "It's pretty simple, Jeffery…Hansey doesn't have any children yet. And as far as we know, he hasn't made any sort of pregnancy announcement either. Right, baby brother?"

Feeling like the air had just been knocked out of him, the only response Hans could give was lowering his head. Taking that as a sign of defeat, Jefferson decided to put in a couple more jabs, "It's alright, Hansey, you could always take one of my children. Ilene and I are expecting our third one soon."

More chuckling and laughter sounded in the dining hall as Hans clenched his jaw and gritted his teeth together. He could not feel, he could not breath, he could not think. The only thing he could do was keep telling himself to not lose his temper, to not get up and storm out of the room. _Conceal don't feel…don't let them know…_ He repeated over and over in his head.

Apparently, Charles was not done torturing his youngest brother as he took a long sip of his drink before shouting, "I guess being married to the Ice Queen wasn't such a good idea after all. You should have married the gullible red-headed sister instead. At least _she_ could have provided you with children." More laughter sounded at the remark.

Unfortunately, that was when Jefferson took it one step too far, "I guess you could say that Elsa is as barren as the North Mountain."

At that moment, something snapped within Hans as he bolted upright into a standing position, his chair loudly clanking to the floor. Everyone's laughter seemed to immediately cease to exist as Hans threw his most threatening glare in the direction of Jefferson and Charles. Hundreds of different scenarios flashed through Hans' mind as he thought of the numerous ways to make them pay for their ghastly remarks. However, just one glance at the horrified expression on Annaliese's face was enough to keep Hans from doing any physical harm to his brothers. He had already gone down that road once and he did not dare start another journey down it. As he furiously clenched and unclenched his hands, he stepped away from the table and silently made his way to the nearest exit. Just as he was about to slam the door behind him, he could hear Jefferson's voice fill the room again, "So…Queen Annaliese? Where's Kendrick and how many children have you two had?"

Hans froze in the doorway, his back still turned to the company at the table, waiting to hear her response. He knew that she had told Klaus that Kendrick was dead and that they had no children, but after that condescending display, Hans was not sure if her story would waiver. However the only thing he heard was the sound of a chair being forcefully pushed back, followed by a low growl, "None. And I regret it since he was not half the pig I thought him to be due to recent comparison. If I could, I would trade both of your souls to the fates if it meant getting Kendrick back. Now, if you'll excuse me. I wish to be rid of seeing your fowl faces."

Hans stepped into the hall at the sound of Annaliese's heels angrily clicked away from the table. Dead silence was the last thing they heard at the table as the dining room doors firmly shut behind Annaliese. Hans forgot that he still had his back towards the door and when he finally got the nerve to turn around, he noticed that Annaliese had her back leaning against the wall beside the door with her head lowered and hands covering her face. Hans cautiously walked toward her, not wanting to frighten her, "Annaliese?"

His voice was so gentle that she felt safe lowering her hands and looking up at her best friend, revealing streaks of tears running down her face, "I'm sorry, Hans. I couldn't keep my composure. It's just the way they talked about you and Elsa and…and…" She tried to take deep breaths, but only short ragged ones came out, "I just…miss…Kendrick…so much…"

Hans gently wrapped his arm around her and led her off the wall and further away from the dining room doors, knowing that his nosy brothers could easily be eavesdropping on them. "Let's get you out of here." With one of his hands firmly grasping her elbow for support and his other arm wrapped around her shoulders for comfort, he led her down the hall and away from his horrid brothers. _I was wrong…_ He angrily thought to himself. _They have not changed at all._

* * *

"Again!" Elsa commanded as Anna and Kristoff practiced a sparring routine with one another. Beads of sweat ran down their faces as they effortlessly swung their swords at each other in a series of blocks and jabs. "Not bad." She praised them as they finished with very few flaws, "Now…let's freestyle. Use everything the Captain and I have taught you in order to win this final spar. Remember, you are not battling your spouse, you are battling someone who has every intention of doing you harm. With that, be swift, be careful, be smart. Ready? En garde!" As the couple engaged in the exercise, Elsa slowly circled around them, scrutinizing Anna's every move while the Captain did the same with Kristoff. They intently watched them start by timidly striking towards one another but very soon they were fighting with an intensity that almost rivaled a true battle.

"Balance, Kristoff!" The Captain yelled as he carefully watched the ice harvester take a wobbly step back as Anna swung a forceful thrust forward, making him stumble a little more. "Straighten your posture! Keep your chest and torso forward when you swing!"

Taking the Captain's words into account, Kristoff managed to regain control of the flow of the exercise. He let out a ragged huff of breath as he forcefully swung his sword down on his wife, causing her to fall down onto one knee. Elsa could see Anna's strength straining under Kristoff's newfound control as she watched her sister visibly grit her teeth while her arms began to shake, "Remember what I told you, Anna. Fight smarter not harder."

Upon hearing her sister's words, Anna took a quick note of Kristoff's opened stance before suddenly lowering her sword while simultaneously using her downed knee to propel herself forward and slide right between Kristoff's open legs. A loud thud sounded as Kristoff's sword heavily collided with the floor along with a good portion of his body weight. While Kristoff was temporarily off balance, Anna rhythmically bounced back up from behind him and tapped the side of her sword to his ribcage, signaling that in a real fight she would have defeated him with a thrust going into his back and out through his chest.

"I win." She smugly smiled as she dropped her sword onto the floor and triumphantly raised her arms above her head, "I did it! I killed you!"

Kristoff exhaustedly rolled onto his back and smiled back up at her, "You seem _too_ thrilled about killing your husband. Should I be worried?" He chuckled at her giddy expression.

"Of course not. Now shut up and let me revel in my glory." She clasped her hands together and held them up high, shaking them side to side, "So Kristoff…" She flexed her muscles at him, "How does it feel to lose to a girl?"

Elsa stepped forward and sternly interrupted, "Anna, please deflate your ego and at least make an attempt at being professional."

Anna playfully rolled her eyes, "Oh come on Elsa. This win is a big deal! I mean look at Kristoff's physique and then look at mine-"

"Shall I remind you what I first told you before we started today?" Elsa firmly crossed her arms and gave her sister her most parental look.

In response, Anna dejectedly lowered her head and sighed, "It's not about the size or gender of the opponent, it's about the skill they possess." She walked over and offered her hand to her husband, "Good match, Kristoff."

Kristoff gently grasped her hand, "Same to you." He kindly smiled as she helped him get back up on his feet. "So…" Kristoff stretched his arms and back out as he looked between Elsa and the Captain, "Have we earned a break?"

"I believe so." Elsa smiled at his subtly, "Go get some lunch you two." As the couple turned to leave, Elsa reached out her arm towards her sister, "Anna, wait." Anna silently waited, still wounded from her sister's stern words. A small smile cracked Elsa's tough expression as she wrapped her arms around Anna, enveloping her in a hug, "You did well, sis. That slide between the legs was not only slick but also very effective in causing your opponent to lose their balance. I'm impressed."

Anna immediately returned the hug with a smile on her face, "Thanks, Elsa. You're a good teacher." She pulled apart and nodded her head toward the door, "Wanna go get lunch with us?"

Elsa delicately laughed as she picked up Anna's sword, "I would but you two go on ahead. I'll catch up with you in a second."

"Alrighty! Don't work too hard!" Anna grabbed Kristoff's hand and the two hungrily hurried out of the armory.

A smile spread on Elsa's face as she shook her head and went to go put Anna's sword away. Just as she slid the sword back into place, she could hear the Captain's footsteps come up behind her, "That was unethical, you know?"

"What?" Elsa turned around, slightly bewildered that the Captain would be so forward with her.

"With all due respect, Your Majesty, but what Princess Anna did at the end goes against all rules of swordsmanship."

Elsa defensively crossed her arms, "Perhaps, but I'm not teaching her to fight as a gentlemen. I'm teaching her to fight as a person trying to defend herself from someone who intends on killing her."

"Queen Elsa, I just don't understand where this irrational fear of someone trying to kill Princess Anna is coming from. It is my job to hire and train numerous amounts of men to prevent such travesty-"

"But it only takes one slip up-"

"Do you not trust me and my abilities as the Captain of the Royal Guard?"

Elsa froze as she realized how much she let her tongue slip. A faint shade of pink stained her cheeks as she comb a tired hand through her hair and recomposed herself, "I apologize, Captain. I have the upmost faith in you and your abilities. I do not mean to undermine you in any way and I am sorry if it seems that I am. However, I will teach Anna the way I see fit and I do not appreciate you questioning me. There are quality reasons supporting the decisions I am making, and although you may not understand, it would be to your benefit to respect these decisions."

The Captain sternly nodded his head, "Understood. Now…"

Elsa furrowed her brows together, "Now?"

He slyly reached past her and picked up a sword off the rack behind her, "I have not seen you fight, Your Majesty."

She took a defensive step back, "You've seen me teach Anna."

"Yes, but teaching and doing are two separate things." A small smile broke his normally stoic expression, "You do know how to fight right? You're not just pulling the wool over my eyes?"

Elsa wanted to be mad at his insinuation about her inexperience but she did not know if it was his lighthearted teasing tone or the fact that he may be making a good point…she never displayed any sort of skills that proved she knew how to fight. With a small eye roll, she snatched the sword out of his hand, "Fine. Let's make this quick. I have lunch plans with my sister and brother-in-law."

The Captain chuckled as he led her to the sparring mat and unsheathed his own sword. Elsa hated to admit that when she watched him expertly rotate his sword around his body that a small hint of insecurity sparked inside her. _What am I doing? He is the captain of the royal guard, of course he knows how to wield a sword. I am such a fool to accept this challenge. I have no real experience. The last time I sparred with someone was back in Sperca with Hans._ Her heart leaped at the thought of her husband and the spar they engaged in about two years ago. _Wait a second…if I recall correctly, I won that fight. I may have used my powers to my advantage, but then again, Hans is one of the best swordsmen in the entire region so I needed as much leverage as possible._

The Captain cautiously watched Elsa's faraway expression, "Are you ready, Queen Elsa?"

She instantly snapped out of her thoughts and a confident smile tugged at the corners of her lips, "All's fair?"

"If you'd like…" He skillfully slashed his sword diagonally across his body, "All's fair in love and war, Your Majesty."

Elsa laughed as she took her starting stance, "Ready?" The Captain nodded in response and with a deep breath, Elsa took a second of mental preparation before shouting, "En garde!"

* * *

The door slammed open as Hans carefully led Annaliese into his bedroom. He knew that it wouldn't take long before his brothers figured out where they went but he figured they had enough time to calm themselves down before facing them again. By the time Hans gently sat Annaliese down on his bed, her desperate sobs had quieted down to small sniffles. As she sat there and wiped the tears off her cheek, Hans quietly closed the door and firmly locked it, "Annaliese I am so sorry I roped you into this. You didn't ask for any of this-"

"Hans, stop." She glanced up at his tired face as he exhaustedly leaned against the door, "You didn't rope me into anything. I got myself into this mess and I promise I can handle it."

"'Liese…" Hans sighed as he slowly stepped towards her, "I heard what they said and saw how it affected you. It's only going to get worse."

"I said I can handle it." She sternly snapped, her eyes avoiding his.

Hans stopped walking and stared at her with concern, "What's going on with you? You've been a completely different person ever since we left Arendelle."

She let out a long sigh as she covered her face with her hands, "I've just been stressed. It's hard leaving Henry back in Arendelle when there is so much uncertainty."

"I know how you feel." He wandered over to the window and glanced out at the castle grounds below, thinking about Elsa's miscarriage and how he desperately wished he could be back in Arendelle comforting her instead of dealing with the verbal abuse of his brothers, "This trip came at the worst time imaginable."

Annaliese peeked at Hans through her fingers, "Can I ask you something personal?"

"Would it stop you if I said no?" He sarcastically responded as he continued to stare out of the window.

Annaliese let out a small laugh as she stood up from the bed, "Not really." She meandered towards her best friend with a sense of hesitancy, "You and Elsa…is there something-" She paused as she stood directly behind him, trying to collect her thoughts, "Has something happened?"

"Why do you ask?" Hans did not even glance at her, he just continued staring through the glass window.

Annaliese could tell by his stoic remarks and lack of body language that his mind was elsewhere, but she continued to press on, "The way you reacted to Charles and Jefferson's comments. Their comments were crude, yes, but it seems that they struck a nerve with you." Now he did not even respond to her and she could see his eyes glazing over, "Hans? What happened?"

"Elsa…" He swallowed tentatively as he lowered his eyes, realizing Annaliese never had any knowledge of Elsa's pregnancy nor her miscarriage. He felt foolish in that moment since he just accused his best friend of hiding something from him, when he was not even remotely truthful with her as well. Of course, he did not know if Elsa wanted this type of news being spread around to others living under the same castle roof. Still teetering on whether or not to tell the truth, Hans was saved by a firm knock on the door.

"Hans. Father would like an audience with you immediately."

Hans could easily identify the voice belonging to Klaus and he desperately hoped that he was not eavesdropping on their conversation this entire time. "I'll be right there." He quickly ran a hand through his hair in order to somewhat comb it back into a reasonable clean style and hustled over to the door. Before he touched the doorknob, he glanced back at Annaliese and whispered, "We don't know if any more of my boorish brothers are lurking around the hall so take the hidden exit. Do you remember-?"

"Yeah, I remember." She smiled as she dismissively waved her hand, "Just like old times, huh?"

"More than I would like it to be." Hans gave her a half-hearted smile before exiting his bedroom.

Once the door clicked shut, Annaliese walked over to the fireplace and searched for the random indentation on the stones around the fireplace. She did not need to look for long since this used to be an everyday thing while she and Hans were growing up together in the Southern Isles castle. They used to spend long nights talking about their hopes, dreams, fears, and laughing about the arrogance and stupidity of the other Southern Isles princes. A nostalgic smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she glanced around the room, thinking about how simple it used to be back then. Back when they did not need anyone but each other and they did not anything but their friendship.

With a sigh, she picked up one of the fireplace tools and inserted it into the hidden key whole. Similar to the one in Sperca, the hidden exit behind the fireplace opened up and Annaliese quickly returned the fireplace tool before swiftly slipping into the hidden passage before the fireplace slid back into place.

* * *

As the door firmly clicked behind him, Hans noticed his brother casually leaning against the wall across the hall. A smug smirk crack Klaus' bored expression as he took in Hans' haggard appearance, "You look terrible."

Hans growled in response, "I haven't slept in two days…" He caught a glimpse of himself in one of hallway mirrors and self-assuredly smirked at his reflection, "I think I look rather well considering."

Klaus did not honor his brother's response with a response of his own, instead he decided to change the subject as they started down the hall, "Was Annaliese in there with you?" He casually glanced at Hans in order to catch some kind of reaction.

Unfortunately, for Klaus, Hans was a master of deception, "No…she went for a walk. She needed to clear her head." Not even the tiniest flinch showed on Hans' calm expression, he was completely stoic and exhausted.

Klaus decided to accept his answer and continued with his conversation, "That was some way of telling everyone of Kendrick's death."

"What do you mean?" Hans' face contorted a bit in confusion.

Klaus dramatically rolled his eyes, "Oh come on, Hans. She just dumped the news and stormed off, leaving everyone with questions."

Hans nonchalantly shrugged, "Well, maybe they shouldn't have been so despicable during breakfast." Considering what Hans just went through with them, he found it hard to actually try and pity his brothers. However, he reminded himself again that he could not afford to make enemies with his brothers, so he tried to keep an open mind about the situation.

Klaus mindlessly scratched at his beard, a habit he tended to do when he was really concerned about something. Hans could not remember the last time he saw his brother look this troubled, but then again, it had been a long time since they saw each other. Anyhow, this newfound composure worried Hans slightly, he felt an uneasiness about him, "What's wrong?"

"Hm?" Klaus immediately dropped his hand.

Hans glanced down at his brother's hand then back up at his face, noticing his brother's unwillingness to make eye contact with him, "You were scratching at your beard. You're worried about something. What is it?"

"I just don't understand…" Klaus stopped walking and his concerned eyes finally fell on his youngest brother, "They were vulgar to you, Hans. Not Annaliese. I don't understand why she was so upset."

Hans indifferently scoffed, "Well probably because she…" He paused as he thought about it. Why had Annaliese been so upset? Hans opened his mouth to answer, but nothing came out. Now he was confused. Annaliese said she was upset because she could not handle the way they made lude comments about him and Elsa. But they discussed such things on the boat ride over, therefore they were prepared for the worst. What caught Hans off guard during breakfast were the jokes about his and Elsa's lack of children, which was still a very sore subject for him. But it was also something only he knew about. So why was she so upset to the point of sobs?

Hans realized that his mouth was still open and that Klaus was curiously anticipating his response. Hans closed his mouth and rubbed a hand over his mouth and chin as he tried to clear his thoughts. He did not want to make Annaliese look suspicious, but his brother did have a point. Hans thoughtfully swallowed since his mouth had gone dry and carefully met his brother's gaze, "…Neither do I."

* * *

 **Dum Dum DUM! Is there something suspicious going on with Annaliese? Or is Hans' brothers just getting into his head? What did you think about Anna and Kristoff sparring? What's going to happen when Elsa fights the Captain of the Royal Guard? And when are we going to hear from Thomas Sullivan and his ally back in London? Please review and leave your thoughts. I get inspired when I read your feedback and maybe, with your permission, I can incorporate your ideas into the story. This story is yours just as much as it is mine. With that, please review and have an awesome weekend/week! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

Hi Everyone! Sorry about taking approx. a month to write this next chapter but in my defense it is pretty long haha. Thanks for being so patient with me and for being so supportive. I hope you all enjoy the next chapter! Happy Reading! :)

 **Short Summary: Hans and Klaus were on their way to speak with King Richard when Klaus started question Hans about Annaliese's strange behavior, causing Hans to start second guessing his best friend. Meanwhile, Elsa and the Captain were about to engage in a quick spar while Anna and Kristoff went off for lunch...**

 **Chapter 10**

Anna anxiously drummed her fingers against the edge of the table, her eyes glued to the ticking clock across the room. She occasionally would look over at the dining room doors and anticipated her sister hurrying in any second now. But the seconds ticked by and the doors never opened. Finally, she could not take it anymore, "Where is she?" Anna groaned as she let her head heavily bang against the edge of the table.

"Anna…" Kristoff reached over to gently lift her head up off the table, "We've only been waiting for three minutes. Give her a chance."

"But she said she was going to catch up to us in a second." She tilted her head so that she was staring at the clock again, "And it's been…180 seconds! Give or take a couple."

Kristoff chuckled as he let go of her head and watched it drop to the table again, "I've got to ask. Why are you so concerned? Elsa didn't even have breakfast with us a couple days ago and she's been skipping out on lunch frequently as well."

"And that's _exactly_ why I am so concerned." Anna lifted her head and propped it up with her hand, "This isn't like Elsa. Ever since the Great Thaw she's treasured every opportunity to spend time with family, including mealtime. We didn't have a whole lot of family meals together once the gates closed and we were separated." A pang of sadness tugged at her heart as she realized how much they missed out on. On how much _Elsa_ missed out on. "No." Anna suddenly pushed her chair back and stood up.

"No?" Kristoff watched Anna's determined expression as she stepped away from the table and headed for the door, "Anna, where are you going?"

"I'm going to find my sister!" She yelled over her shoulder.

With a tired sigh, Kristoff hurried after her and easily caught up with his long strides, "Anna, isn't this a little dramatic? You're acting like she just ran off to the North Mountain again."

Anna suddenly stopped walking, causing her husband to unintentionally stumble into her. However, she seemed unfazed, "Kristoff, don't you see what's happening?" He silently shrugged and shook his head, waiting for her to continue, "Elsa is preparing us for battle. She thinks Arendelle and Vortex are on the brink of war and we need to be ready for them. That's why she's asked Jagger to build us new weapons and that's why Elsa and the Captain are teaching us to fight."

Kristoff understandably nodded with furrowed brows, "Okay, so far I'm following you. But how does that connect to lunch?"

"You know what war brings?"

Again, Kristoff shrugged, "Destruction? Hard feelings? Displacement?"

"Death." Anna timidly looked around the hall as she wrapped her arms around herself, "We may not have many lunches together left…"

Kristoff watch Anna's body language and habits mimic those of Elsa when she was afraid of her ice powers getting out of control. It worried Kristoff to see this side of his wife. He had never seen Anna look so uneasy to the point of falling into her sister's fearful habits. He calmly reached out and brushed a stray strand of hair out of her eyes, gently cupping her cheek with his strong hand, "Are you scared?"

A couple tears stung her eyes as she could feel her breathing become strained, "Well, yeah. I finally got my sister back after so many years. And now I have an older brother in Hans and you as a husband and…it's almost starting to feel like I have a complete family again." She wiped away a stray tear that was starting to run down her cheek, "I can't lose anyone now. I'm tired of losing people closest to me."

"Anna…" Kristoff stepped forward and enveloped her in a warm hug, "I can assure you that no one is going anywhere. Elsa is putting us through all of this training because she wants us to be safe and able to protect ourselves and each other."

"But-"

"Anna think about it." He placed both hands on her shoulders and bent down slightly so they were eye level, "If Vortex couldn't take us down when we were on their turf in London. What makes you think that they can takes us down when we are on our turf, here in Arendelle. It's a fool's errand for them to make another run at us. And they are quite foolish."

Anna shifted her gaze as she stared out of the window displaying the vast ocean beyond Arendelle, "But what about Hans? He's all the way over in the Southern Isles."

"He's in his hometown, in his element. He's going to be fine." A small smirked played on his lips, "Besides, do we _really_ need him around?"

Anna returned her gaze to her husband with an eye roll, "Oh don't act like you and Hans aren't friends."

Kristoff dropped his hands and defiantly crossed his arms with a disgusted look on his face, "The term 'friend' is a little too nice of a word regarding our relationship. More like, tolerable brother-in-law."

"Uh-huh…" Anna nodded with a small giggle. She knew that when no one was around, Kristoff and Hans actually got along fairly well. They liked to debate with each other but they also had a lot of respect for the other. But despite everyone knowing, they were also a little stubborn in admitting their odd one-of-a-kind friendship.

Anna walked over to the large painting of her, Elsa, Kristoff, Sven and Olaf that Elsa gave to her on her birthday shortly after the Great Thaw. A small smile stretched across her lips as she looked at Elsa's smile, seeing the joy and contentment on her face was the greatest gift Anna could have ever received. Thinking about Hans' safety and the possibility of him not coming back made Anna's stomach churn, she knew how devastated Elsa would be and how easily that joyful and content version of her sister can easily disappear for many years at a time. "Well…" Anna sighed as she continued to stare at the painting, wringing her hands in her usual anxious behavior, "For the sake of my sister, you better pray that he comes home safe."

* * *

The early morning sun slowly moved into late morning as Hans and Klaus patiently waited outside their father's bedroom door as the doctor examined and treated the King's injured shoulder. Klaus was bored-looking as he sat in a chair beside the door, irritably drumming his fingers on the arm rests while Hans was casually leaning against the wall opposite of the door, trying to relax and gather his thoughts before entering another round of psychological warfare with his family. Hans rocked his head back and let his head rest against the wall as he stared at the ceiling, letting out an unintentional sigh that unfortunately caught Klaus' attention. "What's the matter with you? You worried about something?" Klaus sneered as he continued his finger drumming.

"Huh?" Hans glanced at his brother with only his eyes, "No, like I said earlier, I am exhausted since I haven't slept in two days." He didn't mean for his answer or his tone to come out so sharp but he couldn't help it, his energy was truly drained.

Klaus scoffed followed by an eye roll, "Oh please, you're so dramatic. When you've only slept 7 hours in the span of an entire week then you may get some sympathy from me."

Hans snickered as he returned to staring at the ceiling, "Oh sure, because you've certainly done that."

"As a matter of fact, I have…" Klaus' tone soften slightly as he looked over at their father's bedroom door with a look of concern, "The week following Father's failed assassination attempt, I was run ragged from addressing citizens' concerns, to attending to Father's bedside, to being bombarded by those who were trying to prepare me for the kingship should Father not survive, all the while trying my best to find and arrest the man who did this."

Hans slowly lowered his head in order to casually watch his brother's expressions as he spoke. He tried to find some sort of tell that would lead Hans to believe that he was lying, but he found nothing but genuine concern as the eldest prince continued to stare at their Father's door. Klaus noticed Hans analyzing his body language and in response he let out a humorless laugh, "You like to think so little of me, but much to your chagrin, I have a heart, Hans. I may not be the most caring brother in the world, but I do worry about my people and try my best to achieve what is expected of me. I'm not a monster."

Again, Hans scoffed as he crossed his arms and produced another eye roll, "Yeah, sure. That's why I turned out the way I did."

Klaus deeply frowned at his youngest brother, slightly irritated by his usual excuse, "Why do you insist on blaming the entire Westergard bloodline for your failures-"

"What failures? I got the Arendelle kingship, didn't I?!" Now Hans furrowed his brow as he defensively, and mindlessly, responded, "As far as Father cares, I am his most successful son since I am the only one who currently holds the title of King."

Klaus smirked as he watched Hans grow defensive. Seeing his normally well composed brother start to lose his temper only made him press Hans even more, "King _Consort_ , Hans. You're not as powerful as you think-"

"Oh, that's rich coming from a 40 year old prince who is still waiting to inherit the throne while his 25 year old brother has already secured a kingdom. At least I hold more authority that _you_." Hans could not control his pride nor his words as he foolishly continued this irrelevant argument.

Klaus shrugged and understandably nodded, "For now yes, but once I become King of the Southern Isles, I will be more powerful than anything you could ever be. You are and always will be nothing but a King Consort." A devious smile spread across his lips, "Unless…"

Seeing that all too familiar smile caused Hans to hesitate, "…Unless what?"

"Well it's quite simple, Hans. There's only one thing you have to do…" Klaus slowly stood up and sauntered towards his youngest brother. Klaus could see that Hans was practically hanging onto every word he spoke, he knew that Hans was vulnerable. So as he stood directly in front of him, he slowly leaned forward and whispered in Hans' ear, "Kill your wife."

Hans immediately drew back and his first reaction was to rebuke him and defend Elsa, but then he remembered who he was supposed to be…the old Hans. The conniving Hans. The murderer Hans. He could not outright defend his marriage to Elsa, but he also knew that if he said anything agreeable, it could lead to something far more dangerous. He was cornered, he was played, and he was outsmarted. As Hans desperately search his brain for the perfect response, he watched in horror as Klaus' confidence about his ploy grew. "What's the matter, Hansey? Can't kill your precious wife?" He darkly chuckled, "You love her, don't you? It was all conniving fun and games until, oops, you started getting feelings for the poor little ice enchantress. Oh, let me guess…" He theatrically placed his finger on his chin as he pretended to think, "Someone called her a 'monster' and it hurt her feelings so she cried. You, being the sap that you are, felt bad for her since you relate to such name calling and started to develop sympathy for her. Sympathy turned into fondness and fondness turned into love." He harshly laughed, "Please, stop me if I'm wrong but by the look on your face, I can assume that I'm right."

No matter how hard Hans tried to focus and develop a decent response, his mind continued to scatter and panic was one of the many emotions overwhelming him. He was mad at Klaus for belittling his love for Elsa, he was mad at himself for letting this get too far, and he was desperately fighting the urge to knock Klaus unconscious and pray that he would forget that this conversation ever happened. Just as Hans was about to put his violent plan into action, the door to the King's bedroom opened and the doctor followed by one of his nurses exited the room. "Your Highnesses, the King is available to see you now."

Klaus immediately returned to his normal, respectable façade as he acknowledged the doctor. Hans could only produce a firm nod of his head since he was still speechless. He watched the doctor and the nurse respectably bow and swiftly walked past the two brothers. The cruel look in Klaus' eyes returned as he sneered at Hans, "Whatever game you're playing is officially over once I tell Father the truth…" As Klaus turned around to walk toward their father's bedroom, he suddenly stumbled and before Hans could comprehend what just happened, Klaus collapsed onto the floor. Hans hesitated as he witnessed his brother lying on the floor unconscious, wondering if he was so tired that he actually had knocked Klaus unconscious without realizing it. But as he bent down to check on his brother, he found no sign of physical damage and Hans' hands were clear of any blood or pain that would have been produced had he actually gone through with it. Finally, his thoughts returned and he found his voice again as he shouted for the doctor and nurse who had just turned the corner not too long ago.

In a matter of seconds, the doctor and nurse came running around the hall with a couple of guards following behind. "What happened?" The doctor ordered as he knelt down beside Klaus and checked for a pulse.

"I-I don't know. He was fine one second and the next he was stumbling around and then he just collapsed."

"He just collapsed, huh?" One of the guards scoffed, "Nice try, Your Highness, but we've seen this before."

Hans panicked as the two guards restrained him, "What?! What are you doing?!"

"This is just like the time when Prince Kendrick 'just collapsed' when you beat him with that old rusty shovel 8 years ago in the courtyard." The guards began to drag Hans away from Klaus and further down the hall, "We heard you two yelling and arguing from around the corner. We couldn't make out the words you were saying but it's pretty obvious you two weren't getting along and you just couldn't control your rage again, could you?"

"I didn't lay a hand on him! I swear! Release me this instant!" Hans forcefully tried to loosen the guards grip, but it was no use. He could not understand what was happening. Was he being set up or was this just an unfortunate coincidence? But most importantly, was his brother alright?

* * *

"En garde!"

Elsa swung her sword first as she tried to get an understanding of how the Captain defended himself and how he would respond to her attacks. Just as she expected, the Captain effortlessly deflected her attack and expertly used her momentum against herself as she found herself already losing control of the fight's flow. She tightened her core and redirected her sword and body into a defensive position just in time to block the Captain's jab. She noticed the Captain subtly cock an eyebrow which meant that he was already impressed that she recovered so well so quickly. And for Elsa, that impressed cocked eyebrow gave her all the confidence in the world as the two engaged in an intense and rather lengthy battle of jabs, swings, blocks, and fancy footwork. Unfortunately for Elsa, her stamina and strength were not nearly as well developed as the Captain's and she found herself beginning to lose focus and missing crucial opportunities. ' _All's fair in love and war, Your Majesty.' Those were the Captain's exact words, if I recall correctly._ Elsa thought with a smirk on her lips. As the Captain rushed toward her, Elsa stomped her foot on the floor, causing an ice path to form between her and the Captain, so when he took that next step he automatically lost some of his balance as he slipped on the ice. This created the opportune moment for Elsa as gracefully skated across the ice path towards the Captain in order to hopefully end the fight. Unfortunately for her, the Captain regained control rather quickly and was now waiting for her next move.

"Nice try, Your Majesty." He chuckled as he effortlessly blocked her next her swings and jabs, "I must admit that you made a bit of a mistake when you used your powers."

Elsa let out a small huff that she hid as a confident chuckle of her own, "How so?"

"Well, if you feel the need to use your powers then that tells me you must be getting tired." He swiftly twirled his sword around hers and as his blade locked with her hilt, he easily flicked his wrist and Elsa's sword went flying across the sparring arena. As he held out his blade to her throat, Elsa instinctively clapped her hands together over the blade of his sword, careful not to touch the sharp edges. The icy coldness of her hands combined with the force of her grab caused the front half of the blade to freeze and break off onto the floor. The Captain hesitated as he stared in awe at his, now broken, sword and Elsa used this opportunity to attack as reached forward and grabbed his hand that held the sword while her other arm swung around as her fist collided with the Captain's jaw.

Immediately after, Elsa froze and instantly covered her mouth with her hands, "Oh my-I am so sorry, Captain! I-I went too far!" The Captain did not answer right away as he rubbed his face, stunned by what just happened. Since he could not do anything else but stare at his queen in stunned silence, Elsa reached out toward him, "Here let me take a look to see how bad it-hey!"

As Elsa stood directly in front of him in order to offer her help, the Captain gently tapped her side with the remaining part of his blade, "I win." He tried to smile, but it turned into more of a wince because of the throbbing pain in his jaw, "That really hurt by the way."

Elsa was filled with a combination of confusion and anger by losing to another fake injury. Hans had used a similar ploy back when they sparred in Sperca and Elsa had lost to him because she felt bad for possibly injuring him. _Perhaps this sympathy for my opponent is something I need to learn to ignore. It has only ended in a loss for me._ However, Elsa really _did_ hurt her opponent this time and she was now starting to become overwhelmed with guilt,"Captain, I am truly sorry about that. I tend to get really caught up in sparring situations and-"

"Your Majesty, it's alright." He carefully chuckled at her panicked rambling, "We agreed on the terms. You did what you felt was necessary." He closely examined his broken sword, "Although I was not expecting something like this to happen."

Elsa let out a heavy sigh, "But still, I feel so bad." She leaned in closer to him, "How bad does it look?"

The Captain shyly covered his injury with his hand, "I can assure you, Queen Elsa, it is not nearly as bad as you think. I have received far worse injuries."

Elsa promptly put her hand over his as she tried to take a closer look, "Perhaps, but I would feel a whole lot better if I could see the damage." She managed to peel his hand away from his face and peered close at the minimal swelling that had produced, "Okay it doesn't look too bad, let me just-"

He reservedly gave her a crooked smile as she tried to place her ice cold hand on his cheek, "Your Majesty, this is not necessary-"

"I can minimize the swelling. The sooner I can bring down the swelling, the less bruising will show and I don't think you want your men to notice, do you?"

He gave into her with a reluctant sigh, "Fine. But only for a minute." As they stood in the middle of the sparring arena, her hand resting against his cheek, an awkward silence fell upon them. In order to break the silence, the Captain anxiously cleared his throat, "So, ahem, that was a pretty good punch."

"Thanks. I learned that from my sister." Elsa could not help but smile every time she remembered the punch Anna threw at Hans after the Great Thaw. Although she may be in a loving marriage with Hans now, Elsa still firmly believes that punch was completely necessary and quite possibly one of her favorite memories ever.

The Captain also let out a small chuckle as he recalled the same memory, "You know, if you really wanted to maximize the damage with that move, you should have either gone for the nose in order to break it or the best case scenario would be to throw that punch towards your opponent's temple in order to knock them unconscious…" He reached his free hand toward Elsa's face and gently grazed his fingers down the side of her head, "Right here would be the best spot."

Suddenly the doors to the armory flew open and Anna stormed into the room, "Elsa! Where have you-whoa!" Anna instantly froze when she saw Elsa and the Captain quickly break apart from what looked to be a romantic embrace, "What on earth is going on in here?!"

Elsa quickly took several steps away from the Captain and tried to speak in a calm casual tone, "The Captain and I were just participating in a quick sparring activity. I wanted to show him what I knew regarding sword fighting."

Anna crossed her arms and skeptically looked between them, "Uh-huh…and who won?"

"The Captain did." Elsa nonchalantly walked over to where her sword was still laying on the ground.

The Captain lightly chuckled as he slid the remaining part of his sword back into its sheath, "Only because Queen Elsa let her guard down in order to attend to my injury."

"Injury? What injury?" Anna hurried over to the Captain and took a long look at his face, "Yikes. Geez, Elsa what did you do to him?"

Elsa shrugged as she placed her sword back onto the rack, "I threw one of your infamous punches. They are quite effective."

"Uh-huh…if you'll excuse us for a moment." Anna grabbed her sister's arm and dragged her through the nearest door, which led to be a closet that went pitch black when Anna closed the door behind them for privacy, "Elsa! What the heck are you thinking?! What if someone else had walked through that door other than me? Do you know how bad that looked and how quickly rumors about you and the Captain could spread through not just the castle but the entire kingdom?!"

"You realize we're in a closest, right?" Elsa was grateful that it was completely dark in the closet so her sister could not see her trying to hold back a laugh.

"Yeah, obviously. I thought this door led to another room or at the very least the hallway or something." Anna irritably huffed, "But don't try to distract me. Answer the question."

Elsa wanted to roll her eyes but resisted since there was no point since it was so dark in the closet that her sister would not see it anyways, "Anna, relax. Nothing happened other than me trying to reduce the swelling of his injuries, I swear."

"Oh I don't need to be convinced, I know how much you love Hans." Anna took a quick pause to breathe and gather her thoughts before continuing in a more mature and calm manner, "Look, I'm just saying that perhaps you may be feeling lonely and subconsciously trying to find someone to fill that temporary void in your life right now."

Elsa let out an angry huff, "I don't have any void in my life right now and, even if I did, I am strong enough to not need the arms of the next available man that draws breath in order to comfort me, or fill whatever void you speak of."

"Elsa, look, I know that you are still upset about losing the baby and Hans leaving certainly did not help but if you need someone to comfort you, you have me. And if you really need a man to hold you then you could borrow Kristoff."

This time Elsa could not help but roll her eyes as she defensively crossed her arms, "Thanks, Anna, but I'm fine. I'm well aware of my marriage with Hans whom I love with all my heart and I have no desire to cheat on him with some other man. So let's drop it, alright?"

"Fine." Anna disapprovingly crossed her arms in annoyance.

They stood there for a few seconds before Elsa sighed, "Can we leave the sacred closet of secrecy now?"

"Yes. Let's." Anna fumbled her hand along the door before finding the doorknob, "There we go." The door opened and the bright light of the room caused them to squint as they exited the closet and made their way to the door that led to the hallway, "So how are the weapons coming along?"

"The lab should be done by tomorrow and then James can get started." Elsa opened the door and the two of them entered the hallway and started towards the dining hall, "Where's Kristoff?"

"He, uh, went to go see Sven, I think?" Anna did not want to tell Elsa about the conversation they had regarding the possibility of Hans not coming back.

Elsa cocked an eyebrow in suspicion at her sister's unconvincing answer, "Mhmm…"

Anna anxiously bit her lip as she glanced over at her sister, "How do you think Hans is doing?"

Elsa mindlessly played with her wedding ring as she felt a pinch of loneliness whenever Anna mentioned her husband's name, but she still answered in her matter-of-fact manner, "He should have just arrived to the Southern Isles this morning, so I am assuming that he is probably meeting with his father as we speak."

* * *

"You can't do this to me! I'm a King!" Hans angrily yelled as the guards forcefully threw him into a very familiar looking cell, "This was a set up or something! You have to believe me!"

"Sorry, Your Highness, but you don't have a good track record when it comes to controlling your anger. So until someone can prove your innocence, welcome back to your old cell." One of the guards ruefully chuckled as he slammed the prison door shut and locked it, before sauntering back to his original post.

Hans stood up and dusted himself off before angrily kicking a bucket across his cell followed by a yell of frustration. He dejectedly sat down on the wooden bench and dropped his head into his hands, his mind reeling with the morning's events. He was so confused, how could things have gone so wrong so quickly? With a sigh, he laid down on the wooden bench and crossed his arms over eyes to block out the sunlight streaming through the window into his cell. He took a deep breath before letting the exhaustion he had been fighting over take him.

* * *

It was nightfall by the time light footsteps hurried down the steps of the dungeon and approached Hans' cell. A guard immediately jumped in front of the person hurrying towards Hans' cell, "Halt! What are you doing down here?"

"I'm here to prove Prince Hans' innocence." A petite young woman dressed in a white long sleeve blouse with a dark green bodice that matched her dark green ankle length skirt stood before the guard. Her bold blue eyes were determined as she tucked a stray strand of black hair behind her ear.

The guard chuckled at the small woman, "Says who?"

The young woman, no older than Hans' age, defiantly placed her hands on her hips, "I'm the head nurse here at the castle, and I have news regarding Prince Klaus' condition that proves Prince Hans is innocent."

"No offense, missy, I've never seen you before so you don't seem too trustworthy. Prince Hans is a devious fellow, he could have _influenced_ you in some sort in order for you to argue in his favor."

"I have no allegiance to Prince Hans. I have never even met the man." She took a step forward and tried to bypass the guard but he would not budge, "Step. Aside."

The guard scoffed, "We don't have to listen to you. You're just a woman-"

"What is wrong with being a woman?" A firm female voice sounded in the distance as Annaliese confidently strode down the hall towards them, "What is going on here?"

"Queen Annaliese." The guard respectfully bowed as she approached them.

Annaliese deeply furrowed her brow, "Let me repeat myself. What is going on here?"

The guard spoke in a demeaning tone towards the young woman, "Your Majesty, this random woman wants us to release Prince Hans-"

"This random woman is the head nurse of King Richard's personal doctor. She has been working all day in finding out what happened to Prince Klaus. She has also concluded that Prince Klaus was not harmed in anyway by Prince Hans. Therefore he is innocent and is allowed to return back to his room." When the guard hesitated, her expression turned cold and threatening, "Did I stutter?"

"Yes, Queen Annaliese. Right away." The guard quickly fumbled for the keys to unlocked Hans' cell. Once he opened the door, he found Hans lying motionless on the wooden bench, "Your Highness." When he did not respond, he spoke a bit louder, "Prince Hans."

"Hmm?" Hans slowly moved his arms off of his face and stiffly turned his head, "What's happening?"

"You are free to go." The guard opened the cell door even wider to prove his point, "Apparently, some nurse as proven your innocence."

Hans slowly sat up with an audible groan due to the stiffness his body developed. His back muscles especially were aching from spending the entire day on that hard wooden surface. When he finally managed to get to his feet, he tried to walk as normal and poised as possible, smirking as he passed the guard, "Told you I was innocent." He heard the guard grumble behind him, but did not care anymore as he met Annaliese in the dungeon walkway, "What are you doing here?"

Annaliese smirked, "I wanted to make sure you were released properly. The doctor sent his head nurse down here to state your innocence, but I figured the guards would give her a hard time, which they did, so I made sure to accompany her. They wouldn't dare disobey a queen."

"Head nurse?" Hans looked behind Annaliese and noticed a beautiful young woman about his age standing far back behind Annaliese, "I don't believe we've met." He walked around Annaliese and gave the young woman a charming smile, along with a polite bow "I'm Prince Hans of the Southern Isles, currently positioned as the King Consort of Arendelle."

The nurse deeply curtsied, "I am Leila Nott. Head nurse working under King Richard's doctor, Peter Var."

"Well, thank you Leila for your help in clearing my name. I was worried I would be stuck down here forever." He led Annaliese and Leila out of the dungeon and headed back to the castle, "How is my brother?"

"Prince Klaus is resting comfortably in the infirmary under close examination by Doctor Var and myself. We suspect that he was severely dehydrated from travelling so much and he is still very much sleep deprived." She unclipped her messy bun and let her long black hair cascade down her back before she gathered her locks and twisted it back up into a cleaner looking bun, "It was amazing that he lasted _this_ long, but considering the amount of stress he's been under, this sort of incident was inevitable."

Hans slightly frowned as he realized that his brother really was telling the truth about the hard week he had been having. He felt a little bad about giving him a hard time, but Klaus wasn't necessarily going out of his way to be kind to Hans either. Of course, Hans first handedly understood how the lack of sleep can devastate a persons' tolerance. He did not know if it was because he finally got some sleep or if this revelation about his brother gave Hans a different perspective, but he decided that he should go visit his brother and check up on him before going to his room for the night. However, he was also curious about this familiar looking young woman. "How long have you been working here Leila?"

"Only a couple of years, Your Highness." She made sure to walk behind both Annaliese and Hans as it would be improper of her to walk side-by-side with them, "However, I lived here for a little bit when I was very young before my family moved us to a different kingdom."

Annaliese let out a delicate laugh, "It's funny because Leila and I used to be good friends when she lived here. But once she moved, I moved into the castle along with my mother to help her with her duties here." She turned around and fondly smiled at her childhood friend, "I was so sad to see you go."

Leila flashed a small sly smile, "Well, it seems that things have worked out well for you, Ann. I mean, look at you, you're a queen and you're best friends with the handsomest prince in the Southern Isles."

"What?" Hans' eyebrows shot up in surprise as he glanced between Annaliese and Leila, "The handsomest prince?"

"OH! She didn't tell you?" Leila laughed as she faked embarrassment, "Ann, here, had a _huge_ crush on you when we were little. I swear, she always told me how she wished she could get a job at the castle so she could see you every day."

"Really?" Hans smirked at his best friend and gave her a small eyebrow wiggle, "You had a thing for me way back then?"

"Leila!" Annaliese shrieked as her cheeks started to turn red, "That was confidential!"

Leila dismissively waved her hand, "Oh please, he's married. You were married. Nothing happened between you two and now, we're all grown up. It's no big deal." An awkward silence fell upon them as Leila skeptically looked back and forth between them, "I mean, nothing _did_ happen between you guys right?"

Hans glanced at Annaliese which caused her to anxiously laugh, "My dear friend, there is so much to catch you up on."

* * *

It was getting close to midnight in the Kingdom of Arendelle and everything was quiet and peaceful in the castle, except for one room…Anna and Kristoff's bedroom. Anna had been venting to her husband about what she saw in the armory when she walked in on Elsa and the Captain's tender embrace and she could not stop herself from talking in circles. "I mean, what if I was some other soldier in the royal guard and I walked in on that sight? They were standing really close to each other like this close!" Anna laid down beside her husband who was trying to catch some sleep and snuggled really close to his body, "This close!"

She heatedly sat back up as Kristoff groaned in annoyance, "Anna, please, go to sleep."

"I can't sleep. You should have seen them, Kristoff, it was really weird." She glanced down at him and noticed that his eyes were shut, "How can _you_ sleep at a time like this?"

"Well, the _time_ is almost midnight and we have another lesson tomorrow so I would like to get some sleep before then." He grabbed a pillow and placed it over his head, "Goodnight."

Anna threw her hands up in the air and shook her head, "Ugh, you are completely unsupportive."

"You want supportive?" Kristoff took the pillow off his head and propped himself up on his elbows, "Fine, here it is. Do you honestly believe that Elsa is cheating on Hans with a man who is 10 years older than her?"

Anna scoffed with a raised eyebrow, "You make it sound like 10 years is a big gap."

"Isn't it?"

"No! Rapunzel and Eugene have an 8 year gap between them and look how amazing they are together!"

"Huh…" He thoughtfully tilted his head, "They're really 8 years apart?"

"Kristoff, focus." Anna rolled her eyes in annoyance.

He briefly chuckled at her reaction before turning serious, "Anna, your sister is fiercely loyal to Hans and she would never jeopardize her relationship with him. Besides, you and I both know how easily she feels guilt so I doubt she would do anything that would produce excess stress on herself."

Anna silently stared down at her hands for a few seconds before letting out a defeated sigh, "Perhaps you have a point…" She fell back onto her pillow with a groan, "Ugh."

"What now?" He glanced down at her in intrigue.

"I wish you would have told me that earlier. It's nearly midnight, ya know?! We have another lesson tomorrow and I would like to get some sleep before then!"

Kristoff playfully whacked her with his pillow, causing her to laugh and fight back with a pillow of her own. Soon they were engaged in an all-out pillow fight complete with bed jumping and pillow forts. It was half-past midnight by the time they started winding down and both flopped onto the bed together. As they laid there, staring up at the ceiling, still panting from their pillow fight, Anna happily sighed, "You are so good for me."

"How's that?"

"You know when to let me vent and you know when and how to calm me down. You know how to comfort me and how to make me smile and laugh. You know exactly what I need before I even realize it myself-oh!" She was cut off when Kristoff swiftly rolled over and climbed on top of her, delivering her a hot breathless kiss that made her toes curl. When he finally ended the kiss, Anna stared up at him in pleasured surprise, "And you know when to make me shut up." He laughed as he leaned in close and granted her another heartfelt kiss that made her body yearn for him. Her heart started pounding violently when she felt Kristoff swiftly start unbuttoning her nightgown with one hand, something he had gotten really good at over the past month and before they got too carried away, Anna placed her hand on his which caused him to pause, "I don't know if I say this enough, but I love you, Kristoff."

He rested his forehead against hers, "You say it every day in both words and actions. I never feel anything but love from you." He gave her his signature crooked grin, "I love you too, you know? I would do anything to make you happy."

"I know." Anna smiled as she could feel his heartbeat through his bare chest, "So…are you going to make me happy tonight?"

A naughty grin spread across his face, "I'm going to try my best, I assure you." And he picked up right where he left off, feeling proud when he heard a happy sigh come out of his wife's mouth.

* * *

It was three in the morning when Anna startled awake with a loud gasp. Her heart pounded in a very different way than it had a couple hours ago. This time she was scared and panicked as she wiped the sleep-developed sweat that had formed on her forehead and tried to untangle herself from her husband without waking him. She anxiously sat up in their bed and brought the covers up to her neck as she shivered from either the dream or her lack of clothing, or perhaps a little of both. She glanced down at Kristoff and debated on whether or not to wake him, but the peacefully content look on his face persuaded her to leave him alone. Besides, this is a matter she had to discuss with her sister.

Anna grabbed one of the quilts that had been pushed onto the floor by recent activities and wrapped herself up in it before she slowly climbed out of bed. She hurried across the room and picked up her nightgown from the spot on the floor where it had landed and quickly shimmied her way into it. Once she finished buttoning up her nightgown, she tiptoed toward her dresser and grabbed her silk green robe before heading towards the doors. As she placed her hand on the doorknob, she heard a deep voice whisper, "Where are you going?"

A small yelp escaped from Anna's lips as she turned around to find her husband sitting up in bed with a concerned look on his face, "For the love of-you scared the living daylights out of me, Kristoff!" Anna loudly whispered back at him.

"What's going on, Anna?"

"I-I kinda had a nightmare." Anna bashfully looked down at her feet.

"You _kinda_ had a nightmare?"

Anna anxiously bit her lip, "Well, I can't decide whether it was a nightmare or a vision so-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa…" Kristoff tiredly rubbed his eyes before looking at his wife again, "A vision?

"Yeah, sometimes I get these visions through my dreams when I'm asleep. It's something I've had ever since I was a child." She played with the ends of her hair, avoiding her husband's gaze, "Like my dream where I was kissed by a troll which turned out to be a memory from the troll encounter I had when I was a little girl. Back when I had my memories changed by Grand Pabbie."

"Alright." Kristoff stared at her intensely, "So what was this nightmare/vision dream about?"

* * *

Elsa was startled awake by the sound of someone knocking at her door. She glanced over at her nephew fast asleep in the crib beside her bed and hurried over to the door before the knocking woke him up. She hastily fixed her appearance as she quietly opened the door to find both Anna and Kristoff standing before her. "What are you doing here? What's wrong?" Elsa's face immediately filled with concern as she noticed the look of worry on Anna and Kristoff's faces.

Anna grabbed her sister's arm and dragged her into the hallway, "Did you, by any chance, send a letter to Corona?"

Elsa furrowed her brows in confusion, "Corona? No, why?"

Kristoff anxiously rubbed the back of his neck, "Rapunzel and Eugene could be in the same amount of danger with Vortex as we are. They were with us when we took Sullivan and the rest of his organization down."

"They need to be warned!" Anna accidentally whispered a little louder than intended.

Elsa firmly shook her head, "No, leave them out of this. This is not their war. Vortex does not want anything to do with them."

"How can you be so sure?" Kristoff's intense brown eyes bore into Elsa's crystal blue ones.

"That's what I was told-"

"By who?!" Again, Anna's whispers were beginning to escalate.

"James Jagger…" Elsa paused as realization hit her. As she remembered that Thomas never limited his revenge to only Arendelle, the color in her cheeks paled, "Uh-oh."

"Exactly!" Anna tightly squeezed her sister's arm, "Jagger only wanted revenge on us and Arendelle but Sullivan and the rest of Vortex wanted revenge on all of us who interfered, Rapunzel and Eugene included."

"As well as our friends back in London." Kristoff added with a small wince.

Elsa froze as she recalled the words Thomas told Hans when they were picking up James from the prison in London. _"You think he's going to help protect your kingdom? You think that man will stop what VORTEX has coming? I let you win. I could have easily sliced her throat when you burst into my lab, but I didn't. And you want to know why? Because it wasn't a part of the plan. You think I failed, but I didn't. I accomplished everything I needed to and the best thing is that you have no idea what I accomplished. And yet my master plan is already in motion...a plan that will end with your demise."_ Elsa's chest tightened as she realized that the Kingdom of Corona was unaware of what was brewing and would therefore make an easy target for Vortex, "We need to warn them. They'll never see it coming."

* * *

 **WOW! A lot has happened in 24 hours! Do you think Klaus was really dehydrated/exhausted or was their foul play afoot? What do you guys think about Leila? What happened between Elsa and the Captain? Is Corona in danger? I also felt like I had to add a little bit of Anna/Kristoff fluff because this story had been pretty dark and intense lately. Please let me know what you think! Have a great weekend everyone! :)**


	11. Chapter 11

Hi Everyone! I know it took a while but the next chapter is up! Yay! Thank you for your reviews and your patience and your support. I hope you enjoy the next chapter. Happy Reading! :)

 **Summary:**

 **Klaus discovered Hans' ploy in covering up his true feelings about Elsa. As he threatened to tell their father, King Richard, about this revelation, Klaus** **had an incident that landed him in the infirmary while Hans was dragged to the prison due to being unjustly blamed of his brother's sudden collapse. Later, Head Nurse Leila Nott was able to prove his innocence and with the help of her old childhood friend, Annaliese, they convinced the guards to let Hans go free. Meanwhile in Arendelle, Elsa and the Captain of the Royal Guard participated in a spar that resulted in Elsa accidentally throwing a solid punch to the Captain's jaw. Unfortunately, as Elsa tended to his injury, Anna walked in and caught them in a seemingly intimate embrace. Afterwards, Anna had a talk with her sister and insisted that Elsa was feeling lonely due to recent events, however, Elsa denied such claims. Later that night, after Anna had a good talk with her husband (among other things) she realized how she may have overreacted. However, a few hours later, Anna suddenly woke up from a disturbing nightmare/vision that prompted her and Kristoff to wake up Elsa and suggest that Rapunzel and Eugene may be in danger. Elsa realizes that Corona is completely vulnerable to Vortex's advances since they have not been informed about recent events and quotes, "We need to warn them. They'll never see it coming..."**

* * *

 **Chapter 11**

It was late into the night as the storm clouds continued to bombard the Kingdom of Corona with blinding flashes of lightning and deafening rolls of thunder. The rain pounded against the roof and walls of the castle as the howling winds shook its windows. However, despite the loud chaos of the storm, the inside of the castle was silent as everyone found sleep and escaped into their dreams. That is, until an extraordinarily loud crash of thunder woke up the princess of Corona, causing her to bolt upright in her bed and frantically look around. In the midst of the lightning's glow, Rapunzel could see everything was normal in her and Eugene's bedroom. Out of habit, Rapunzel got out of bed and tiptoed her bare feet towards the nursery to check on the twins, Flynnigan and Evangeline. As usual, the door to the nursery was half-way open so that Rapunzel or Eugene could peek their head in without moving the creaky door and waking one or both of the babies.

However, this time Rapunzel decided to squeeze through the half-opened doorway and sneak further into the nursery. She lightly tiptoed over to the large cradle that held the two five-month old twins. Although they each had their own bassinet, during loud stormy nights such as this one, Rapunzel found that the twins slept better when they were in the other's company. Rapunzel smiled as she looked down at her precious babies, noticing that Evie had a tiny hand resting in her brother's hand. Rapunzel reached down and brushed some strands of Evie's hair out of her face, still feeling a bit uneasy that Evie had inherited her fast growing golden locks that possessed the flower's healing powers. Although Rapunzel and Eugene had kept Evie's magical locks a secret, Rapunzel still could not help but worry that someone would try to kidnap Evie like what Gothel did to her.

With a tired sigh, Rapunzel gently grazed her fingers through the dark brown tuff of hair on Flynn's head, smiling as he wiggled his nose in his sleep as a reaction to her touch. Rapunzel quietly shuffled out of the nursery and slid through the narrow door opening as she meandered back to bed, listening to the steady drumming of rain on the window. Although the rain continued to relentlessly pour, the thunder and lightning seemed to have stopped for the moment, which was an opportune moment for Rapunzel to try and catch some more sleep.

As she climbed back into bed, her movement caused Eugene to stir as he rolled over to face her but he remained asleep. Rapunzel smiled at his calm, peaceful expression and out of curiosity she reached forward and gently combed some of his hair out of his face, trying not to giggle when he too wiggled his nose in his sleep as a reaction to her touch, just like their son. With a loving heart, she leaned toward him and gently kissed his forehead before nestling close to her husband and falling asleep with an overpowering sensation of love in her heart and a joyful smile on her face.

* * *

Rapunzel did not know how long she had been asleep when a loud bang, she assumed thunder, disturbed her from her slumber. She was still nestled close to Eugene but her side was starting to feel a little sore so she decided to roll over. And that is when she saw it…the open bedroom window. _That's what that loud bang must have been…the strong winds probably forced the window open._ Rapunzel thought as she climbed out of bed and hurried to close it before too much water and cold wind found its way into the room. But as Rapunzel closed the window, she noticed the lock on it was broken and in the bright flash of lightning she was horrified to find wet footprints coming from the window and leading to the nursery.

Rapunzel's heart began pounding so loud she could hardly think as she ran towards the nursery and slammed the door open, "NO!" She yelled over the roar of thunder, "Stay where you are, don't move!" There, in front of the twins' cradle stood a tall menacing figure dressed in a black cloak who glanced over its shoulder before breaking into a sprint towards the twins' nursery window. Although the nursery window did not open, the figure broke through the glass and was about halfway out as Rapunzel raced forward and grabbed its cloak, "Stop! Get back here!" She screamed as she forcefully yanked on the cloak to bring the figure back inside. She noticed that through all the chaos that there was only one baby crying in the crib and that wail belonged to Flynn. "No!" Rapunzel cried as the figure's cloak slipped out of her fingers and climbed out onto the narrow terrace. Not giving up, Rapunzel effortlessly climbed out on the slippery terrace through the broken window, slicing up her hands, arms, feet, and legs pretty badly. But she did not care. She only cared about protecting her daughter.

With the blood from her injuries dripping and running down her body, she continued to run after the figure who still had Evangeline. Suddenly the figure came to a screeching halt as it finally reached the edge of the castle roof. Rapunzel was close behind as she tried to keep from sliding into the figure or sliding off the slippery roof in general. "Give me back my daughter and I may reconsider your death sentence for breaking into the castle and kidnapping the new princess." She growled in a threatening way that made her own skin crawl.

The figure turned toward her but she still could not make out the face. Finally, the figure spoke, "You seem to be hurt pretty badly, Your Highness. I would hate to see you bleed out again like you did during childbirth."

Rapunzel easily recognized that the voice belonged to a man, "Sir, let my daughter go." She tried to sound strong but she was losing a lot of blood fast and her vision was starting to get blurry as she tried not to sway on the slippery narrow beam they were standing on that hung over the dark cold ocean waters below. The wind was still powerful and the rain showed no sign of letting up as they stood facing each other for what seemed like an eternity.

The man held out Evangeline who was wailing loudly at this point, "So beautiful…so powerful…I must have her for experimentation…for science." He laughed menacingly as he cradled Evie in one of his arms, "You could have avoided this you know? But you just had to save her, you just had to be persistent." He suddenly pulled out a revolver with his free hand and effortlessly shot the gun at Rapunzel, striking her right shoulder, "Now your scars can match _hers_." He growled, his voice filled with hatred.

Rapunzel stumbled back from the force of the bullet, miraculously stumbling far enough back that when she slipped off the beam, the edge of the castle's roof was underneath her and caught her fall. Rapunzel firmly pressed her hand against her wounded shoulder, her mind racing through the man's words. _"Your scars match hers"…who is 'her'?_ Realization hit Rapunzel as she glanced up at the man who was now standing only a foot away from her, with the barrel of his gun pointed only inches away from her forehead. _Unless this man is referring to Elsa's scar from the bullet she took in London…which means…_

In a dramatic moment of reveal, a bright flash of lightning sparked and the man's face came into full view…Thomas Sullivan. As the loud clap of thunder rumbled closer, Sullivan took this moment to use the thunder to cover the sound of the gunshot. He cocked the gun and smiled down at Rapunzel, "I could have had Elsa, but you took her away from me. You took everything away from me. And now, it is my turn to return the favor. I will take your daughter to destroy you. I will kill you to destroy your husband. Then I'm off to Arendelle to deal with those meddling sisters, after a quick detour to the Southern Isles, that is." Once the crescendo of the thunder roared above them, Sullivan did not hesitate to pull the trigger and a loud _BANG!_ echoed.

* * *

"NO!" Rapunzel woke up with a scream, something she had not done in a long time.

She instantly covered her mouth with her hands and silently wept as Eugene ran into the room from the nursery, "Rapunzel, what's wrong?!" He was disturbed to hear her horrified scream and seeing the rivers of tears pouring down her paled face terrified him. "My God, what happened?" He ran over to her just as she leapt out of bed and ran towards the nursery, "Rapunzel?"

She burst into the nursery and a new wave of tears formed, this time from relief, as she saw both Flynn and Evie in the cradle with each other, although they were now crying. Rapunzel skillfully reached down and scooped both of them up in her arms, "You're okay. I'm here." She nestled her face against their cheeks and the warmth of their mother caused the crying twins to quiet down to minor whimpering.

"Rapunzel?" Eugene was still standing in the nursery doorway, his pulse racing in confusion, "What is going on?"

"I-I…" She tightly squeezed her eyes closed as she resisted the urge to start crying again, "I'll tell you after we get the twins to sleep."

Eugene nodded as he hurried into the room, gently took Flynn from Rapunzel, and gently bounced and rocked him back to sleep like Rapunzel was doing with Evie. During this time, neither one of them spoke but Eugene noticed that Rapunzel's eyes kept drifting towards Evie's golden locks. He started suspecting that perhaps she had another nightmare about Gothel kidnapping either Evie or even herself again. Although several years had passed since Rapunzel had been free from her tower and Gothel's possession, Eugene still held a special hatred towards Gothel because even though she was no longer alive, she still continued to torture and haunt Rapunzel in her dreams. He loathed that Gothel would always hold a small part of Rapunzel's mind under her control for the rest of Rapunzel's life.

A few minutes passed until both of the twins had fallen back to sleep and Rapunzel tucked both of them into their individual bassinets since the thunder and lightning had stopped. Only a steady rain continued to tap on the castle's roof and windows as Rapunzel and Eugene tiredly shuffled back to their room. Eugene closed the nursery door halfway, like usual, and then turned toward his wife with a concerned look on his face, "Rapunzel, are you alright?"

Rapunzel silently walked over to the window and tightened the lock, making sure that nothing had shaken loose due to the stormy winds. She looked out of the window and watched the raindrops run down the windows, "I'm sorry I screamed." She tiredly sighed as she pulled her gaze from the window and looked at her husband. Seeing the loving concern on his face made her think about what Thomas said in her dream, _"I will kill you to destroy your husband."_ Tears began to form at thought of Sullivan's words, "Why won't they just leave us alone?"

"What?" Eugene's pulse began to quicken in anger as he assumed she was referring to Gothel, "What happened, Rapunzel?"

She covered her face as she walked towards the bed and heavily sat down on it, crying into her hands, "He's coming for us, Eugene. He's coming for all of us. You, me, Evie, Flynn, Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, and Hans."

"He?" Eugene sat down next to her, wrapping a loving arm around her slim waist and another underneath her legs as he slid her onto his lap, "Who is 'he'?"

"Thomas Sullivan…" Rapunzel lowered her hands and rested her head against his sturdy chest, trying to speak through her sobs, "I-I dreamed that he came through our window and broke into the nursery and stole Evie because of her hair." She managed to gain a little bit more composure before continuing, "I managed to chase him onto the roof…I was cut up and bleeding profusely from the broken nursery window…he was holding Evie and he told me that I could have avoided this if I hadn't healed Elsa back in London…then he shot me in the shoulder, just like he did with Elsa." She took a couple soothing breaths as she continued her dream, "He told me that we took Elsa away from him, that we took everything away from him. And that he was returning the favor by taking Evie away from me for experimentation." New tears started to form and roll down her cheeks as she looked up at her husband, "He then pointed his gun at my head and told me that he was going to kill me in order to destroy you and afterwards he was headed towards Arendelle to kill Elsa and Anna after he stopped by the Southern Isles…then he shot me in the head."

As she continued to cry, Eugene gently tucked her head to his chest, letting his shirt soak up her tears. He rested his chin on top of her head and soothingly combed his fingers through her hair, "Rapunzel, I am so sorry this happened to you." He protectively tightened his grip around her as he felt her shaking, "I honestly have no idea how to respond to this…what do you need me to do?"

"Not you… _we_ …" Rapunzel spoke with a shaky voice as she managed to regain her composure, "What should _we_ do?"

"We do what we always do…" Eugene gave his wife a determined look as he tenderly cupped her cheek with his hand, "We stick together, we fiercely protect our loved ones, and we fight. Whatever Vortex throws our way, we throw it back at them."

Rapunzel nodded in agreement, feeling the scared sensation fade away as a strong sense of protective motherly instinct kicked in, "I think we should send a letter to our family in Arendelle. We need to warn them."

"Yes and we should discuss this with your father as well. We need to keep our guard up." Eugene paused as he remembered something, "Wait, you said that Sullivan told you he was going to detour to the Southern Isles before Arendelle?"

"Yes."

He furrowed his brow in confusion, "Why?"

* * *

It was about three in the morning as Hans stood outside of the infirmary, staring at the large wooden door that separated himself from his brother Klaus who had been resting there all day and night. While he was saying goodnight to Annaliese a few minutes ago, Leila went ahead of him to relieve Doctor Var from watching Klaus. But now, here he was… _knock…just knock._ He thought as he balled up his fist and held it up. With a deep cleansing breath, he gently knocked on the door in order to not wake up his brother if he were asleep. A couple seconds passed until the door creaked open and Leila's friendly face appeared, "Hello, Your Highness. Glad to see that you finally made it."

"You didn't think I would come?" He smirked with a raised eyebrow as he stepped inside.

"Well…let's just say that it took you a lot longer to get here than I expected." She quietly laughed as she closed the door behind him and led him down a narrow hallway within the infirmary that broke off into multiple private recovery rooms. She lightly tapped on one of the doors before peeking her head inside, "He's asleep right now." She whispered to Hans, "Would you like to come back later in the morning?"

"I'm afraid I'll probably be busy once the sun comes up." He noticed a cushioned chair was at Klaus' bedside, "You mind if I sit here?"

"It's your castle. You can sit wherever you want." She teased as she watched him wander over to the chair and sit down, intensely watching his oldest brother, "Please don't poke him or something."

Hans suppressed a laugh as his head immediately turned toward the head nurse, "Poke him? How old do you think I am?"

"Well, I don't know how desperate you are to talk to him." She smirked as she filed through some papers and supplies. She then walked over to Klaus and took his pulse followed by using a stethoscope to check his heartbeat and breathing. After she wrote down her observations in a file, Leila glanced up at Hans, "You know what? I missed dinner and since you're here to watch him, I'm going to quickly grab something from the kitchen, you want anything?"

"No thank you." Hans automatically responded without looking up at her.

Leila shrugged as she headed for the door, "Alright. I won't be long."

Once she left, Hans leaned far back in his chair and let his body relax. It was not the most comfortable position but the chair was far more comfy than the wooden board he slept on all day. Before he knew it, his eyes were growing heavy and his head began to drop. He did not know how long he had been asleep, or that he even fell asleep until a light knocking on the door woke him. He immediately stood up and quickly wiped the sleep off his face as he strode over to the door. When he opened the door, he was unable to hide the surprise on his face as his second eldest brother stood before him, "Viktor? What are you doing here?"

"Am I not allowed to see how my older brother is doing?" Seeing the weird expression appear on Hans' face made Viktor laugh, "I'm kidding, Hans. I actually came here to see you."

"Me?" In his surprised state, Hans could not help but smirk a little, "How did you know I was here?"

"Leila told me you came to visit Klaus earlier this morning so when I went to your room and you weren't there, I assumed you were still here." Viktor inquisitively scratched his goatee, "Actually based on your haggard appearance, I would find it appropriate to assume that you slept here?"

"Uh-huh…well…" Hans glanced at the clock in the hall over Viktor's shoulder and noticed that it was half-past six, "I guess I did fall asleep."

"It's alright, Leila told me how you haven't slept very much prior to the incident with Klaus and I bet sleeping in your old cell wasn't all that comfortable."

Hans slightly winced when his brother mentioned 'his old cell' but he was not going to let that bother him now, "What was it you wanted from me?"

Viktor lightheartedly chuckled, "I don't want anything from you."

"Then why are you here?" Hans unintentionally crossed his arms in front of him in a defensive manner out of habit from when he used to get bullied by his brothers.

Viktor noticed the defensive shift in Hans' behavior and an immediate look of regret stretched across his face, "My God, we must have screwed you up bad if you think we only want to hurt you."

"You're not wrong." Nevertheless, Hans slowly dropped his arms in an attempt to seem less cautious, "Why were you looking for me?"

A small wary smile tugged at his lips, "I wanted to see how you were doing."

Hans let out an amused scoff, "Psh, you're a little late for that. I could've used the company when I was unjustly locked up in the prison."

Viktor dejectedly lowered his head with a sigh before looking back up at his brother, "You're right, someone should have gone down right away to see you. However, I was a little busy dealing with the situation at hand since both Father and Klaus were incapacitated. Being the next Southern Isles authority in line made me quite busy but I did ask Leila to solely focus on proving your innocence-"

" _You_ asked her to do that?" Hans casually leaned against the doorway.

"Of course. Her original duties were to work with Doctor Var in caring for Father. I figured Father was healthy enough that he didn't need _two_ highly qualified medical personnel watching over him. Besides, I figured someone with her intellect and experience would be your best shot at getting out of there relatively fast."

Hans silently analyzed his brother's behavior, trying to depict any lies he could have possibly told but he could not find any. Plus, Viktor was usually a pretty lousy liar anyways, he always blinked too much when he lied but he seemed to be acting normal if not genuine. Hans pushed himself off the doorway and stepped further back into the room, "Well…thanks, I guess."

"Actually…" Viktor anxiously rubbed the back of his neck, "There's something else I wanted to talk to you about. Can I come in?"

Hans shrugged as he opened the door a little wider, "I guess…" He walked back to his chair while Viktor grabbed a stool and brought it over to Hans.

"So…" He sat on the stool and clasped his hands together, "I wanted to address what happened at breakfast yesterday."

Hans tiredly sighed, "Listen, I know that storming out of the dining hall wasn't the best-"

"I wanted to apologize."

Hans' eyebrows instantly shot up in shock, "Wait, what?"

"Yes, you heard right." Viktor uneasily chuckled, "What Jefferson and Charles said was completely inappropriate and I did scold them afterwards but you know those two, they think everything is a joke. I told them to apologize and make amends. I even gave them the entire day to do so but I assumed that they didn't so here I am." He scoffed with an eye roll, "I can't believe I have to apologize on behalf of two thirty year old men."

"And to think that you aren't even their father." Hans sneered.

Viktor glanced down at his hands, "I know that your relationship with Father hasn't exactly been civil but he is still your father after all. He may not say it, but he loves you Hans."

"I seriously doubt that. He just likes using me to fulfill his agenda." Hans let out a heavy sigh as he stretched out his back, "But I guess that's better than him publically hating on me and allowing you guys to beat me up."

"Hans-"

"Don't tell me I'm wrong because I know I'm not." Hans leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees as he stared down at his feet, "You don't understand. You have been and always will be one of his favorites."

Viktor was quiet for a few moments before carefully speaking, "I may not completely understand what exactly _you_ went through but I've had my time of shaming from him."

"Really?" Hans looked up at him in disbelief.

"Are you kidding?" He humorlessly chuckled, "I'm the second born. I'm the spare."

"The spare?"

"Yeah, you know. I'm not allowed to inherit another kingdom like you or the rest of our brothers in case something should happen to Klaus. But I'm not born to be king, I'm just somebody hopelessly in between. I've lived in the shadow of Klaus my entire life. I've spent my entire life just waiting in the wings for the chance of an opportunity to do something, to be someone." He ran a hand over his face in tired frustration before sitting up with a small smile, "However, there is one perk to being the spare." Hans curiously raised his eyebrows in silence in order to prompt his brother to continue, "I was allowed to marry for love instead of business. I never had the pressure of marrying into another royal family in order to secure a kingship. And to that, I am truly grateful for."

A small smirk played across Hans' lips, "Although marrying the daughter of a well-known foreign dignitary from America didn't hurt. Mary may not have been royal but she was still politically powerful."

Viktor laughed as he mischievously grinned from ear to ear, looking between Klaus and Hans, "Vous parlez français, oui?" Which translated to: _You speak French, yes?_

Hans nodded, "Oui."

Viktor's smile grew as he continued to speak in French, " _Mary was not the daughter of an American foreign dignitary. She was a maid servant in the embassy I stayed at in America during one of my voyages._ "

Hans' jaw dropped and his eyes grew wide in surprise, " _What?"_

Viktor laughed at his stunned expression, " _It's true! It may sound cliché, but it was love at first sight. She came in to deliver my linens my first night there and I was dumbfounded by her beauty. She was dressed in her humble uniform, yet she outshined all other upper-class-royal women in even their most elaborate dresses. She was so sweet and pure and I knew in that instant that this young woman was something special and I couldn't let her walk out of my life._ " Viktor bashfully smiled as he played with his wedding band, " _During my year-long stay, we grew very close and when Father had written me a letter to return home, I kept coming up with excuses and reasons to stay in America. We were in love and neither one of us could fathom the thought of being separated by such a great distance. So when I finally ran out of Father-approved excuses to stay, I proposed to her. I knew that marrying her was the only way to ensure that we could stay together despite my travels. Of course, since I'm now the liaison between the Southern Isles and America, my travels are far and few."_ He let out a lighthearted chuckle, _"Fortunately, she was very close to one of the American foreign dignitary couples. She grew up working in the embassy and they were like the parents she never had and she was like the daughter they knew had. So with their support, we hatched a plan to fake her status in order to ensure Father's approval of our marriage._ "

" _I thought you said that one of the perks of being a spare meant you could marry whoever you wanted?_ "

" _I did, but you and I both know our Father would not have approved of my marriage to a maid servant. His idea of 'marrying down' includes marrying the princess spare to another kingdom and not killing the heir."_ Viktor huffed with an angry eye roll, " _But never mind that. All that matters is that Mary and I successfully tricked Father into approving our marriage and this year we are celebrating our 14_ _th_ _year wedding anniversary."_

Hans could not help but genuinely smile at his brother's story. It turned out that at least _one_ of his brothers' had a heart after all. Hans only met Mary a couple of times but he always had a feeling that something about her was different. He just assumed it was because she was from the Western region of the world and people from that region had a different quality about them. But it turns out that Hans was not the only Southern Isles prince who had put on a façade in order to marry the woman he loved. This realization about Viktor made Hans feel a newfound respect and connection to his older brother, one he never thought would ever occur.

Viktor glanced over at Klaus who had been sleeping throughout their entire conversation, " _You mustn't tell anyone about this. Klaus, especially. If he found out, well, let's just say Father would know about Mary's and my charade before nightfall and who knows where that revelation will lead. Hence our speaking in French._ "

" _Klaus doesn't speak French?"_ This surprised Hans since the Southern Isles princes were required to learn at least one alternate language other than their native tongue.

" _No. Since I'm fluent in French and Latin, he figured that learning those would be a waste of time since I'll, how he put it, 'always be there to translate'."_ Viktor chuckled in disdain, _"So he's fluent in German and Italian."_

Hans glanced over at Klaus before looking back to Viktor, _"How did you know I was fluent in French?"_

A sad smile spread across his brother's face as he looked down at his shoes, _"Mother loved the French language and you two always had a special connection. It was a pretty simple deduction."_

Hans slightly nodded as he leaned back in his chair, letting his mind wrap around what his brother had told him about his past. After a couple minutes of silence passed, Hans cleared his throat and peered over at his brother, _"Why did you trust me with your story?"_

Viktor pried his eyes away from his shoes and forced himself to look his youngest brother in the eye, trying to think of how to carefully proceed with the conversation, _"Because I also deduced that you have a similar story about you and Elsa?"_

Hans kept a relatively stoic expression on his face as he was about question his brother's claim, _"How-"_

" _The way you reacted yesterday was a good hint about how much she means to you."_ A small, kind smile shown on Viktor's face as he noticed Hans' stoic expression melt.

" _Was I that obvious?"_ Hans groaned with a deep furrow in his brow.

" _I wasn't referring to you storming out of the dining hall, I was referring to our private conversation we had while eating. Your answers to my questions about Elsa were quite generalized and you never really gave me a direct answer. You could not directly say anything bad about her. You seemed to talk around the questions I asked, which was a very good ploy by the way."_

Hans humorlessly laughed, _"Obviously not good enough."_

" _Only because I've used those tactics before with Mary."_

Another silence filled the room as both Hans and Viktor glanced over at Klaus. Hans could not believe that Klaus was still asleep and started wondering if he had been faking it in order to listen to their conversation, _"We probably should stop speaking in French, it may seem a bit suspicious if Klaus were to wake up and hear us."_

" _Agreed."_ Viktor chuckled as he readjusted his position on the stool, "Can I ask you something rather personal?"

Hans shrugged as he pretended that there was something interesting to look at across the room, "You were honest with me, so I guess I could try to do the same."

Viktor paused with a sense of hesitation before slowly asking, "Are you and Elsa having trouble getting pregnant?"

Hans had a feeling that this is where the conversation was headed and he really did not know how to respond. He felt like he could trust Viktor, especially after everything he had just told Hans. But at the same time, could he really trust anyone? However, Hans felt that deep down, he could trust Viktor to keep a secret. So with a deep breath and a long sigh, Hans decided to truthfully answer his brother's question, "Yes and no. It's not getting pregnant we're having trouble with…" A small lump formed in Hans' throat, much to his surprise, "It's staying pregnant that's the issue."

Viktor knowingly nodded, "Miscarriage?"

"Yeah…" Hans cleared his throat in order to regain his composure and shove his emotions down.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Hans." Viktor carefully reached out and placed a kind hand on Hans' shoulder, "How is Elsa doing?"

"She…" Thinking about Elsa and how devastated she was when she received the horrid news about losing the baby brought back awful memories for Hans as a strong sensation of sadness and regret washed over him. He realized that through Elsa's grieving process, Hans never once allowed himself to grieve their loss. He kept himself distracted from the pain by acting as Elsa's support and strength. But now, Elsa was not here to distract him from the pain and he did not like how his shoved down emotions were starting to boil up. "It was rough at first…lots of tears…lots of regret…" Hans constantly cleared his throat to keep his voice from cracking as tears stung his eyes.

Viktor gently squeezed the hand that was resting on Hans' shoulder, "And she blames herself, right?"

Hans was startled by Viktor's astute remark, "How did you know-"

"Mary and I had trouble getting pregnant when we first got married too. At first it was just the one miscarriage and about a year later she was pregnant again…then she lost the baby for a second time." Viktor regretfully pinched the bridge of his nose and tightly shut his eyes, "We went through four more miscarriages in six years. We were convinced that we were never going to have children." He opened his eyes and stared at Hans, who was intensely listening to his story, "But finally, in our seventh year of marriage, Mary gave birth to our first child, a little boy we named Matthew." Viktor smiled with a small chuckle, "Two years later, another baby boy, Joshua. Another two years later, a baby girl, Elisabeth." He gave Hans an encouraged pat on the back, "Never give up hope, Hans. It may take a while but if you and Elsa want a family, then you fight for it."

Hans felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders, however, there was still something bothering him, "I am pleased to hear that you and Mary are doing so well now, but unfortunately my situation with Elsa is bit more complicated." He uncomfortably shifted in his seat, "The doctor said that there could be a chance that Elsa's powers made her infertile."

Viktor's smile immediately disappeared from his face as a deep frown took its place, "Well I am sorry to hear that Hans, but I have a hard time believing that."

Hans scoffed with an eye roll, "Oh so you're a doctor now too?"

"Of course not." Viktor laughed, "But if Elsa was truly infertile, she would not have gotten pregnant in the first place, right?"

"I suppose so…"

"See? Never give up, Hans." Viktor knowingly smiled as he readjusted himself on the stool, "How recent did this miscarriage happen?

"We got the news about a week ago." Hans gave a small shrug in hopes that his brother would not make a big deal out of it.

"What?" A slightly horrified expression shown on Viktor's face, "Hans, are you serious? Why on earth are you here?"

Hans scornfully chuckled, "You know I've been wondering the same exact thing recently. I was told that I was needed for this investigation but all I've done was eat, nap, and get thrown in prison."

"In all honesty, we do need you Hans. But so does Elsa…" Viktor thoughtfully rubbed his goatee as he thought about Hans' situation, "Why don't you stay here and help out for the rest of the week and then head back to Arendelle to be with your wife."

"Really?" Hans could not believe that his brother was actually giving him permission to leave. Hans wanted nothing more than to hop on the first boat out of here and Viktor was giving him the opportunity to do so. However, as badly as Hans wanted to leave, he and Elsa had a plan. Unfortunately, the plan required him to stay in the Southern Isles for a bit longer, at least until he gets the information, or person, he came here for. "Je ne peux pas." Which translated to: _I can't._ Hans did not want Klaus to hear about his reasons for staying and he pointedly glanced at the sleeping eldest prince in order for Viktor to catch on, which he did as he responded in French.

" _Why not?"_

Hans knew that since Gregory was not here to help him, he needed to find someone else he could trust to watch his back in case Vortex really was trying to attack him while he was separated from his Arendelle family. And he believed that Viktor was that someone. _"I must speak with you later, in private, about something important."_

* * *

It was still relatively early in the morning as the sun was slowly starting to rise and warm the Kingdom of Arendelle. Although most of the citizens of Arendelle were still asleep, the Queen was not only awake, she had already started work for the day. Thanks to Anna and Kristoff's 3am wakeup call about warning Rapunzel, Eugene, and the rest of Corona about the possible impending danger that could be lurking about, Elsa had taken advantage of the quiet in the early morning to write multiple letters to her family in Corona. She wrote a formal letter to King Thomas alerting him about the situation in the Southern Isles and what that may mean to their own kingdom as well as the new weapons Arendelle is producing along with familiarizing their alliances with each other and other kingdoms in case a war should break out. She wrote a less formal letter to Queen Primrose that concerned the well-doings of everyone in the Arendelle family in order to keep things lighthearted. She wrote a letter to Rapunzel about the possibility of Vortex's involvement in everything that is going on and to keep a close eye out for any Vortex-related shenanigans. Finally, she wrote a letter to Eugene in regards to utilizing their friendship with Aquata the mermaid from the Northern Isles and her connections to help obtain a secure means of communication between Arendelle, Corona, Northern Isles, Southern Isles, and their friends back in London. Elsa was concerned that if Vortex was as vast as Thomas had threatened, then there was a good chance that there were Vortex operatives in nearly every kingdom, including those Arendelle was in an alliance with.

It was a little after five in the morning by the time Elsa had finished writing the letters and her mind was reeling too much to fall back asleep for an hour, so she decided to get an early to start to her day. Now, it was coming up on six-thirty and she was standing on the front steps of the castle that led to the courtyard, waiting for the guards to bring James Jagger up from the prison as she prepared to welcome him to his new position and his new lab. Elsa nervously fidgeted her fingers as she tightly clasped and unclasped her hands together. She glanced around the courtyard and, aside from the guards doing their rounds, noticed how empty it was, which made this the perfect opportunity to walk Jagger from the prison to the castle. As Elsa continued to scan the courtyard her eyes fell on the Captain of the Guard as he was speaking to one of the other guards standing by the prison entrance. She carefully watched as he seemed to be subtly hiding the right side of his face, the side Elsa accidentally punched yesterday. But as she continued to stare at him, she noticed that the swelling and bruising had significantly diminished leaving only a small red mark that was not too noticeable.

Unfortunately, the Captain must have felt someone watching him because as soon as he finished speaking with the prison guard, he turned around and locked eyes with the queen. Embarrassed, Elsa quickly looked away and tried to keep her cheeks from burning as she noticed that he was now walking towards her, "Good morning, Your Majesty." He bowed.

"Good morning, Captain Stephen." Elsa curtly nodded as she tried to seem occupied by staring at the prison entrance, praying that Jagger and the guards would walk out at any moment.

"Is everything okay, Queen Elsa?"

"Yes…" She cautiously glanced over at him, "Unless there is a reason why everything is not okay?"

"No, no…everything is fine." He chuckled at Elsa's relieved expression, "A couple of my men are just making sure that Jagger looks presentable enough to be living in the castle."

"I see…" An awkward silence fell between them and Elsa figured that she should say something, "I noticed that your right cheek is no longer swollen nor bruised."

A small smile cracked his stoic expression, "Is that why you were staring at me?"

"I was not staring at _you_ I was staring at your injured cheek." She scoffed, "I felt it was necessary to explain myself so you would not get any wrong ideas-"

"About us? Because of yesterday?" He looked down at her with an embarrassed expression on his face, "Your Majesty, I must admit that I overheard some of what Princess Anna was discussing with you in the closet. I wasn't trying to eavesdrop, it's just that the Princess has a loud voice-"

"I understand." Elsa abruptly cut him off, slightly humiliated that he heard Anna's accusations, "How much did you hear?"

"Not a lot, I tried to hurry out of earshot before anything personal was said-"

"What did you hear?" Her voice was forceful as she feared the worst.

"Just that if someone else should have walked in then there would be a possibility of uncouth rumors being spread throughout the kingdom."

"Is that all?" Elsa's stomach tightened at the thought of him overhearing Anna talking about Elsa's 'need to fill a temporary void' because of her miscarriage and Hans' absence. The last thing she needed was people thinking that she was weak and mentally unstable without her husband.

The Captain gave her an honest nod, "Yes, I swear. Like I said, I hurried out of the armory."

"Good." Elsa quickly caught how overly relieved her response was and desperately tried to recover, "I mean, thank you for trying to be courteous and giving us privacy."

"Of course." Silence fell between them again, except this time it was less awkward. The Captain authoritatively looked around the courtyard, keeping a careful eye on his men, "Your Majesty, as the Captain of the Royal Guard it is my duty to always put you and Princess Anna's safety and well-being above all else. But that requires a certain amount of trust between you and I, and I hope that you trust me enough to tell me if something is bothering you."

Elsa knew that he was referring to the lessons they had been giving to Anna and Kristoff. She also assumed that he was curious as to the reasoning behind Arendelle's sudden development of weapons. However, she still did not know who she could and not trust due to Sullivan's widespread threat of Vortex accomplices. "Trust is a difficult concept for me to fully grasp, Captain."

"Well, let's start off with something easy." He stared down at her with a subtle kindness in his eyes, "You can call me Edward instead of Captain Stephen in these less formal interactions."

Elsa cocked a curious eyebrow, "And I suppose you want me to tell you to call me just 'Elsa' as well?"

"Only if you feel comfortable with that." Another small smile tugged at his lips.

"Well…" Elsa matched his small smile, "As long as it is only during informal interactions, I guess I can be okay with that."

"Alright." The Captain noticed that his men were ready to bring Jagger out and he gave them a nod of acknowledgement, "Well, it seems like my time for socializing is over. I must get back to work."

"Thanks for the talk, Edward." Elsa could not help but smile at their newfound familiarity.

"Take care, 'just Elsa'." He bowed with a chuckle before hurrying down the steps and striding towards the prison.

Elsa was confused for a brief second until she realized he was teasing her about what she previously said. As she got his joke, she managed to extinguish a laugh by covering her giggly smile with a delicate hand. She quickly regained her composure as two guards appeared from the prison with Jagger between them, his hands were still cuffed but the rest of his appearance was clean and well dressed. Captain Stephen stepped in front of Jagger and took the lead as he led Jagger and the two other guards towards Elsa, "Your Majesty…" He respectfully bowed, "Mister James Jagger is ready to work under your command."

"Thank you, Captain." Elsa firmly nodded as her stern eyes fell on James, "Mister Jagger allow me to show you to your new lab."

* * *

Hans confidently strode down the Southern Isles' castle halls, feeling a whole lot better since he ate a hearty meal to fill him up and had a nice warm bath to clean himself up with. After his good long talk with Viktor, he was feeling very optimistic about everything and maybe he could return home by the week's end if all goes well. Viktor had excused Hans from showing up to breakfast this morning in order to clean up and rest before visiting the King at noon. Perhaps not having to deal with the bombardment of his brothers is what put Hans in a good mood. He could also rest easy knowing that Annaliese was also excused from attending breakfast and that she was going to eat with Leila this morning in order for the two friends to catch up.

He let his mind wander to Leila. Something about her seemed familiar to him, like he had seen her before and perhaps he did. She did live in the Southern Isles for a short time, so there was a chance he had run into her when they were young. She was a fun-loving girl who loved to serve people and make them happy, she was a tad bit on the eccentric side at times but she also knew how to reel it in and act professional when her job required her to. Hans saw a lot of Anna in her which made him wonder about the Arendelle sisters. He hoped that everything was going well for them and that major progressions were being made in order to secure Arendelle's safety. He finally let his mind wander to Elsa, a person he desperately tried to avoid thinking about because he knew that she was the one person that could make him go soft and lose his focus. Nevertheless, he took some time to think of his beautiful wife, hoping that she was doing well in his absence. Of course he knew that she could handle herself without him, but sometimes he was the person to help her overcome her battles with anxiety and self-doubt. They understood each other in a way no one else could. But he also knew that Anna and Kristoff were there as her support and that was a huge weight taken off of his shoulders.

As he approached his father's room, he cleared his mind about all things Arendelle and gathered his thoughts. He nodded to the guards outside of the door as he firmly knocked on the door. The door opened and Hans stepped into the large ornate room. He nodded his thanks to the young woman servant who had opened the door for him. Hans glanced around the room and noticed that Doctor Var was also in the room along with another young female servant. It never occurred to Hans just how many young women were employed in the castle and that rose a strange bit of concern for Hans.

"Hans?"

He brushed away the thoughts that clouded his mind as he realized his father was staring at him with an odd look, "Yes, Father?"

"Is everything okay?" The King's eyes were filled with concern.

"Of course." He took several more steps towards his father's bed and bowed, "How are you feeling?"

"I cannot complain." He shifted uncomfortably in his bed, "But finally getting the chance to talk with you has definitely uplifted my mood."

"What do you wish to discuss with me?"

"Well, first of all, I am glad to see that you made it here alright. I was told that there were some unruly storms occurring around Arendelle." King Richard sneered, "No doubt a result from your wife's inability to control her powers."

"Yes, sir." Hans mindlessly replied, not allowing his father's unjust words to irritate him.

"I assume that Klaus has filled you in on recent events?"

"Yes, sir." Hans stood at attention with his hands firmly grasped behind his back.

"I was also told that Klaus is resting in the infirmary as we speak?"

"Yes, sir. He should be released today and back on his feet by tomorrow."

"Good." He nonchalantly shrugged with his good shoulder, "Although my need for him is no longer valid since you are here."

"Father?" Hans was shocked to hear his father say anything negative toward his first born.

"Klaus is basically an over-glorified messenger." He chuckled at his own words, "I only needed him to go to Arendelle and convince you to come. You are the only son I needed to be here.

Hans deeply furrowed his brow, "You have an entire dining room full of sons who would beg to differ."

"Perhaps, but you are the only one with the ambition and ability to get things done in a timely matter. Hence you are my only son to obtain a kingship, and at such a young age I should add."

"Thank you, Father." As much as Hans hated to admit it, a tiny part of him swelled with pride at his father's praise, "What is it you want me to do?"

"I want you to take the lead on this investigation of my attacker. Bring him to justice by whatever means necessary. I'm sure someone as cunning as you would have plenty of ideas."

"Yes, sir." Hans continued his militant reply, knowing that it would please his father to show him the utmost respect.

"Excellent." He proudly smiled ear to ear, "I knew I could count on you. I expect nightly reviews about what has conspired during the day."

"Yes, sir."

He gave Hans a firm head nod, a serious tone to his voice, "Everything is resting on your shoulders, Hans. I trust you."

"Thank you, Father. It will be done."

* * *

 ***A week later***

The summer sun shone brightly into the London prison, gently warming the face of Thomas Sullivan as he tiredly sat against the stone wall of his prison cell. Despite the inviting sensation of the sun's warmth, he did not feel any sort of pleasure. It only reminded him of the outside world, specifically the people out there who had wronged him and put him in here. As a wave of anger hit, one of the guards banged on his cell, "You've got a visitor, Sullivan."

Thomas subsided his anger to see who his visitor was, but when he saw the person, his anger from before returned, "You again?! Why do you keep coming here?!"

The visitor smirked, "Is that anyway to treat the person who is doing all of your dirty work?"

"I don't care about what you are doing, I only care about what you are _not_ doing."

"Such as?" The visitor crossed their arms in a challenging way.

"Getting me out of this bloody rotten cell!" Thomas paused in order to regain his composure and keep his voice down, "I know you possess the ability to break me out of here."

"Patience, Sullivan. Your rage is what got you here in the first place."

Thomas sneered, "What got me here was a bunch of novice royals trying to play hero. I have a personal agenda to accomplish and I can't do that from in here."

"Your personal vendetta against those royals is another reason why you are still in here. I can't have you compromising the mission."

"Wait a second..." Thomas furrowed his brows together as realization hit him, "Are you fazing me out? Are you purposely keeping me here so that _you_ can continue controlling _my_ organization?"

"Sullivan, _I_ have far greater goals to accomplish other than running _your_ pathetic organization." The visitor chuckled with a smile.

"Why you backstabbing son of a-"

The visitor suddenly outstretched their hand which released a powerful force that threw Sullivan across the cell and harshly slammed him against the opposite wall, "Tsk, tsk…" They rotated their hand upward and curled their fingers into the palm of their hand which caused Sullivan to be lifted off the floor and suspended in the air as the visitor continued to speak, "You know what I can do, Thomas. I haven't killed someone in a long time and I would hate to ruin my streak." They opened and relaxed their hand which caused Sullivan to fall to the floor, "But I will if I have to."

"Enough of your mind games-"

"My mind games are what made me powerful." The visitor contorted their hand as magical red vapors danced between their fingers, "But don't worry about those royals, Thomas. I have someone working on the inside. And with the addition of my _abilities_ , they'll end up tearing each other apart. All you have to do is sit back and watch."

* * *

 **Phew! Pretty long chapter, huh? I hope it was well worth the wait! Let me know what you guys think! Please review or private message me with your thoughts and opinions. I know a lot of you have requested some Helsa fluff and I promise I will have them meet up soon. Thanks again for everything, you guys are AMAZING!**

 **P.S. I have been watching (and obsessing over) Tangled: Before Ever After and Tangled: The Series. There has been so much amazing character development and background uncovered in that show and I would absolutely love to add some references into my story. The thing is, if not enough of you guys have seen it then my references would not make sense. Basically, I'm asking how many have seen the show and would understand these references? Thanks so much and have an awesome weekend! :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hi Everyone! I apologize for my long absence but the past couple months have been very hard and stressful on myself and my family. I could give you a list of misfortunes that have plagued my family but I do not wish to make you guys depressed so you will have to take my word for it. On the bright side, I finally finished the next chapter! I would like to take a moment to thank all of you who kept encouraging me throughout my absence and for making me feel like I could keep going with this story. You are all so amazing and without further ado, here is the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it and, as always, Happy Reading! :)**

 **Previously...**

 **In Corona, Rapunzel experienced a horrific nightmare about Thomas kidnapping her daughter, Evie, and then killing Rapunzel as revenge for when she saved Elsa back in London. Rapunzel told Eugene and they decided that they needed to send a letter of warning to Arendelle and also discuss what happened in London with Rapunzel's father.**

 **In Arendelle, Elsa had written letters to her family in Corona about what has occurred in both Arendelle and the Southern Isles due to a recent nightmare Anna experienced. Also James Jagger's lab has been completed and he was being escorted to his new weapons lab for the first time. Elsa and Captain Stephen also shared an awkward conversation about Anna accidentally catching them in an out-of-context embrace. They ended up talking through the situation and departing on good and more familiar terms as Captain Stephen insisted that Elsa call him Edward and vice versa when in informal environments.**

 **In the Southern Isles, Hans had a good heart-to-heart talk with his second eldest brother Viktor while visiting Klaus in the infirmary. Viktor confessed he had figured out that Hans was lying about his true feelings for Elsa. However, Viktor later revealed to Hans a similar story about when he had deceived their father 14 years ago in order for him to marry his wife who was only a maid servant at an American embassy. Feeling better about trusting Viktor, Hans confessed to him about Elsa's miscarriage and Viktor was able to comfort him by telling Hans about how he and his wife went through several miscarriages during the first few years of their marriage but now they had three healthy children. "Never give up hope, Hans. It may take a while but if you and Elsa want a family, then you fight for it." Afterwards, Hans finally meets with his father to find out that his father wishes to put Hans in command of running the investigation in finding the assassin.**

 **In London, Thomas Sullivan was visited by his usual visitor. However, Thomas was not very happy to see them and angrily argued as to why he was still locked up. The visitor simply told him that his lack of patience and his rage is the reason why he is still in prison. When Thomas began to question their motives, the visitor revealed that they possess telekinetic powers as they threw Sullivan across his cell. "My mind games are what made me powerful." The visitor contorted their hand as magical red vapors danced between their fingers, "But don't worry about those royals, Thomas. I have someone working on the inside. And with the addition of my _abilities,_ they'll end up tearing each other apart. All you have to do is sit back and watch."**

* * *

 **Chapter 12**

"Who do we have today?" Hans authoritatively dictated to his brother Simon as they strode down the prison walkway towards their next interrogation.

"Suspect number 156, Joseph Howard." Simon read from the file, "Charged with theft 20 years ago-"

"Is that what we are really doing now?" Hans shook his head with an eye roll as they turned a corner, "Interrogating petty thieves from two decades ago?"

Simon shrugged, "We're scraping the bottom of the barrel, Hans."

"And yet…nothing." Hans tiredly sighed as he ran a weary hand through his hair, "We've been interrogating suspects for over a month and every man has had an iron clad alibi. Not to mention they lack the capability of being an assassin." He opened the wooden door and saw an old man with dark glasses and a walking cane chained to a wooden table. Hans shook his head and immediately shut the door before walking away from the room, "He's blind."

"Yeah, so?" Simon hurried after him.

Hans stopped walking and threw his older brother an irritated look, "What makes you think our assassin is a seventy-year-old blind man? How do you expect him to shoot our father when he can't even see?"

Simon chuckled with a smirk, "Well, in my defense, he _did_ miss Father's vitals."

Hans' body froze in stunned silence, "You think this is funny?!"

"Of course not, but Hans…" Simon lowered his voice so none of the guards patrolling the prison could overhear them, "You've been running us ragged and we are exactly where we started. How are you going to report this to father?"

"The same way as I always do…" Hans casually shrugged as he rubbed the back of his neck, "Stretch the truth."

Simon laughed as they made their way out of the prison, "It's a good thing that you're the golden boy. If anyone else lied about their failures to father, he'd have them locked away by nightfall."

"I'm not the golden boy. I'm just his temporary favorite." Hans looked over at his brother and noticed his demeaning expression, "Don't give me that look, you know I'm right."

"Sure, sure." Simon watched as Hans unrolled his sleeves that he normally rolled up to his elbows when he was working during the hot summer day. But every evening he would unroll them and straighten out his clothing as he prepared to speak to their father about the day's events. It bugged Simon to have his youngest brother in charge and to have to obey his orders like he was his servant, "You know, your confidence and authority is really unbecoming." Simon sneered.

Hans scoffed as he finished unrolling his sleeves, "You're just used to seeing me as a broken man."

"Are you this assertive back in Arendelle?"

Hans nonchalantly shrugged as he fixed the collar of his shirt, "Obviously. Probably even more so."

Simon smirked at the thought of the ice queen submitting to his command, "And Elsa's okay with that?"

Hans opened his mouth to reply but he was cut off by Annaliese who was leisurely walking towards them, "Good evening, Hans. Good evening, Simon."

"Queen Annaliese." Simon respectfully bowed before breaking away from the group as he headed into the castle and towards the dining hall for dinner while Hans and Annaliese continued to stand in the courtyard.

Hans waited until the castle doors closed behind Simon before continuing his conversation with his best friend and current informant, "How did you do in town?"

She tiredly shrugged with a brief shake of her head, "Well, I think I've finally earned the citizens trust again. There's not a lot of chatter about what happened with your father's shooter but there is an interesting development brewing."

Hans paused as a pair of guards walked by, waiting until they were out of earshot before addressing Annaliese, "Please elaborate."

Although the coast was clear, Annaliese lowered her voice a bit just in case, "As you have probably already realized, the mid-summer festival is quickly approaching in a few days. However, I've picked up some extra chatter that the Kingdom of Corona's Festival of Lights is being held on the same day."

"That's some coincidence." Hans shook his head in disbelief.

"Even worse…" Annaliese's brows furrowed together in a worried manner, "There are rumors that there may be some _explosive_ elements at these events."

"Could be fireworks. Could be something even worse." Hans' expression hardened at the thought of another Vortex bombing.

"That's what I'm thinking." She nervously nodded.

He gave her a firm nod before taking a large stride towards the castle doors, "We need to warn Corona-"

"Wait Hans!" She tightly grabbed onto his forearm in order to keep him from walking away, "There's something else…" She nervously glanced around the courtyard before lowering her voice again, "These summer festivals also fall on the same day as Arendelle's Great Thaw Celebration."

Hans' eyes widened in realization, "I need to warn Elsa as well." He tore his arm out of her tight grasp and hurried up the stairs that led to the castle doors. He stormed into the castle and hastily headed for his room, and with Annaliese following close behind, he ordered, "I need you to find the men who started these rumors and bring them to the castle for questioning immediately. Understood?"

She contorted her face in confusion and concern, "Sure but, Hans, I think you've been missing something very important about this investigation."

He abruptly stop walking, "What?!"

Annaliese was caught off guard by his sudden halt and nearly bumped into him, but she quickly regained her composure, "You've only been focusing on half of the population." She furrowed her brows in concern but her eyes showed alarm, "Not all bad guys are men."

* * *

The moon rose high above the quiet kingdom of Arendelle as Elsa made her final rounds around the castle grounds before getting ready for bed. Since Hans left a little over a month ago, Elsa had started getting into the habit of walking around the castle in order to inconspicuously observe if anything out of the ordinary was occurring. She was currently on her way to her second to last stop which was James Jagger's laboratory in order to see him being escorted from his lab back to his cell in the prison.

She felt kind of bad that the man who was greatly helping her keep Arendelle safe still had to sleep in the wet, drafty prison on a hard wooden bench. But unfortunately, she could not fully trust him to stay in the castle without around-the-clock guard supervision and she did not want to exhaust her royal guard in case she needed them for a more urgent matter.

However, she had asked some servants to try and make Jagger's cell a little more comfortable by adding more padding and blankets to his wooden bench and giving him a couple sets of pajamas to sleep in, along with a more comfortable wardrobe for him to wear during the day. She also asked the kitchen staff to upgrade his meals to be a bit more civilized in order to reduce the ongoing hostility of being a prisoner.

As Elsa turned the final corner that led to Jagger's lab, she could see two guards standing outside the door who immediately stood at attention as soon as she walked up to the door. She nodded her head in acknowledgment before knocking and slowly opening the door, "Mister Jagger? Night has fallen and it is time for you to be escorted back to your cell." She stepped inside to find a couple more guards in the lab along with Doctor Omsorg who had been assisting James since Jagger only had one hand and he needed Doctor Omsorg's steady hands. Elsa smiled at the group while her eyes curiously scanned the candle lit lab, "Good evening, gentlemen. Where is James?"

"I'm over here, Your Majesty!" James ran towards her with a look of excitement on his face, "Queen Elsa, I've managed to not only reconstruct my weapon designs, but I've managed to enhance the weapons as well. Look here…" He pulled back a lever of some sort that resulted in a barrel shaped item with several large holes to be exposed, "This is the first multi-shot revolving firearm of our time!"

Elsa cautiously observed the complicated and dangerous looking device, "How big of an advantage does that give us over _other_ designs?" She still avoided using the term 'Vortex' around her staff in order to avoid the spread of rumors.

However, James understood who she was referring to and acknowledged her with a confident head nod, "Well considering my previous gun designs only consisted of a single shot, this weapon can easily outshoot those _other_ designs. For every one shot they fire, this baby can fire off about five shots."

A small feeling of relief washed over her, "That is great news…" She glanced back down at the weapon before looking back up at Jagger, "But does it work?"

"I was thinking about testing it when you walked in." He embarrassedly rubbed the back of his neck, "But I assume that it is too late to fire off a weapon of great magnitude and lack of stability?"

A small smirk played across her lips, "Yes, I would not like to frighten my entire staff and family at such a late hour, so this will have to wait until tomorrow. I would also like to be present when you test out this weapon."

"Yes, Your Majesty, of course." He graciously bowed his head as he slid the barrel shaped item back into the weapon and closed it up before gently laying it back down on the counter.

Elsa smiled at everyone in the lab, "Thank you for your hard work, gentlemen. Let us all get some well-deserved rest." As everyone shuffled out of the lab, Elsa locked the door behind them and gave the door handle a firm shake to make sure it was securely locked. Doctor Omsorg said his goodnights before heading towards his room while Elsa walked side-by-side with James as she escorted him back to his cell with two guards trailing behind them, "I asked the kitchen staff to better your meals as a way to show my appreciation for what you are doing."

James let out a soft chuckle, "Queen Elsa, that is most gracious but knowing that I'm helping protect the kingdom I love and the people that Agdar adored so much is enough of a reason. However, I will not decline your offer because I could really use some more nutritious meals."

She cocked a curious eyebrow at him, "The kingdom you _love_? What happened to wanting to destroy Arendelle?"

"Perspective, Your Majesty." He looked around the hallway and observed the many familiar paintings he grew up with during the years of friendship he shared with Agdar and the time spent working as King Agdar's advisor. He let out a heavy sigh in response to the heavy weight of guilt that was weighing down on him, "I was so angry at your father for 'betraying' me that I wanted to see everything he loved be destroyed. But upon my return to Arendelle, by your grace, I realized how much this kingdom means to me. I've been away for so long that I forgot how beautiful the scenery was, both in the landscape and in the people. I've grown up here and some of my fondest memories took place here, most of which took place within these walls."

As they exited the castle and made their way across the courtyard toward the prison, he looked directly at Elsa with remorse, "I regret not being able to reconcile with your father. I was angry and swarming with hatred that I never realized how much I missed my best friend until I saw you in London. And after everything that I did to you and your family, you still decided to bring me back here. You may not have realized how much that meant to me, to be brought back to my homeland. I've wasted many nights fantasizing about returning to the kingdom I love. And now I get to use my abilities to not only protect Arendelle but to also protect those who inhabit it, including my best friend's daughters."

Elsa sincerely smiled at him, "Well, that is nice to hear." Her smile faltered as she felt her stoic façade begin to fade and she immediately tried to recover by addressing James formally, "Thank you for your help, Mister Jagger. I will see you in the morning for the first trial run. Goodnight." She did not give him time to respond as she nodded her head to the guards to take him down to his cell. As she crossed the courtyard to head back to the castle, she could not help but replay James' words in her head. If he had truly meant what he had said, then she believed that he could be trusted, at least enough to stay in the castle. But then again, with so much at stake with Vortex and so much uncertainty in knowing who to believe, trust was in short supply during this time.

Her head began to hurt as the stress of the Vortex situation was draining her both physically and mentally. She wished Hans was here to help her figure all this out. She knew that she could trust his judgment of people, he had the valuable ability to read people well enough to know if they could be trusted or not. Unfortunately for Elsa, being locked away and hidden from the world for so long crippled her ability to read and trust people. Even Anna and Kristoff could not help since Anna was shut out from the world for many years just like Elsa and Kristoff lived most of his life isolated from people due to his job and family.

As she was deep in thought, Elsa found herself at Anna and Kristoff's bedroom door. She contemplated on whether or not she should knock because even though Anna constantly reminded her that she was always available for talking or companionship, she was also married which meant that Anna now shared a room with Kristoff and Elsa would feel guilty if she were to interrupt something. A sad smile tugged at Elsa's lips as she turned and walked away from her sister's bedroom, thinking about when Anna had accidentally interrupted something between Elsa and Hans on the morning of Hans' departure. Since Hans left, Elsa had tried to not think about him too much because she knew that it would only mess with her emotions and make her miss him even more. However, since her mind was already thinking about Hans, she let her thoughts wander further down that road, specifically the final hours leading up to his departure:

" _Promise me you will never let fear or doubt creep into your mind."_

" _I promise." He gently kissed her again, this time lingering longer than intended._

 _Elsa looked up at him, a little out of breath from the kiss, "I think we should back to our room. You know, so you could finish packing."_

 _Hans smiled at her insinuation, "Right._ _Packing_ _."_

 _They held a leisurely brisk pace as they walked back to their bedroom but as soon as they entered the room and locked the door behind them, they could no longer keep their hands off each other. They did not know who made the first move but all they knew was that they were hungrily kissing the other as if they would never see each other again. As the kiss deepened, Elsa threw her arms around Hans' neck and he fell back onto the bed, one hand firmly pressed against her back and the other hand at the nape of her neck. His fingers found her dress buttons and he skillfully began unbuttoning her dress while his other hand unclipped her bun and let her long silvery locks fall over her shoulders._

 _Elsa used one of her hands to untuck Hans' shirt and unbutton his shirt as her other hand playfully ran her fingers through the thick red hair on his head. As soon as Elsa finished unbuttoning his shirt, Hans suddenly broke off the kiss and firmly grasped her wrist that was resting on his bare chest, "Elsa, wait, what are we doing?"_

 _She looked down at him with a small smirk on her lips, "I think we both know what we're doing."_

 _He chuckled, "Yes, but, I mean…" He glanced down at her stomach before meeting her gaze, "Should we be doing this?"_

 _Elsa lifted herself off of Hans and sat back on her heels, feeling a small wave of confliction wash over her, "Is it too soon?"_

 _He propped himself up on his elbows and curiously cocked his head, "I don't know…what did Doctor Omsorg say?"_

 _Elsa sighed as she ran her hands through her long locks, "He said that, physically, I am okay for us to start trying again, but it just depends if I am emotionally ready."_

" _And are you?" He tilted his head to the other side, his eyes intense like a puppy waiting for their owner to give them a command._

" _I don't know…" She lowered her head and curiously looked up at him through her thick eyelashes, "Are you?"_

 _A small sad smile played across his lips, "If you're not sure then I think that answers your question."_

" _But you're leaving in a couple hours for who knows how long." She shifted her body so that she could bring her knees up to her chest, a familiar position for her when she felt uncomfortable, "Isn't this what you want?"_

 _Hans recognized her uncomfortable body language and his heart immediately ached for her, "I want you to be happy, Elsa. I never want you to feel like you have to go out of your way to 'please' me in this way. When you're happy, then I am happy." He slowly reached forward and gently cupped her cheek with his hand, "And when you're ready to start trying again, then so will I. And not a moment sooner."_

 _Her heart swelled with love as a single tear rolled down her cheek, "I'm going to miss you." As he wiped away her tear with his thumb, she reached up and took his hand in hers, letting their fingers intertwine, "I'm going to miss this."_

 _Hans sadly smiled as she laid down beside him and snuggled her body close to his. He instinctively wrapped his arm around her in a warm hug, "Me too." He let out a wistful sigh as he felt her head rest on his still-bare chest while gently grazing his abdominal scars from Sperca with her fingertips. He gently stroked her hair with his hand and he could feel her body relax against his which brought a small smile to his lips. For the next few minutes, they closed their eyes and remained in that warm embrace, trying to relish every sensation of love and contentment they shared in this moment before they were to be separated for who knows how long._

 _Unfortunately, the moment of silent bliss ended when a firm knock sounded on their door, "Elsa? It's Anna. We need to talk."_

 _Elsa reluctantly opened her eyes as reality rushed back, "Hold on. Just give us a moment."_

Elsa firmly shook her head as she pushed aside her daydream and realized that she had wandered back to her room with a reminiscent smile on her face. In an attempt to wipe off the wistful lovesick look from her face, she took in a deep cleansing breath before entering her room. As she entered her bedroom, she found Gerda sitting in the rocking chair with Henry sleeping in her arms. Elsa could not help but smile at her nephew's peaceful face as Gerda stood up to acknowledge the queen's arrival, "Good evening, Your Majesty. I finally managed to get him to fall asleep. He clearly missed having your lullaby tonight."

Elsa quietly laughed as she scooped Henry out of Gerda's arms and rested her nephew against her chest, his small head gently nestled into her neck, "Thank you so much for taking care of Henry for me, Gerda. I can't believe that I thought I could run a kingdom and take care of an infant without imposing on anyone."

Gerda firmly shook her head, "It is no burden, Queen Elsa. You are not imposing on anyone. I take pleasure in knowing that I can assist you." As Elsa continued to gently sway and rock Henry in her arms, Gerda began to turn down Elsa's bed, "If I may ask, Your Majesty, have you heard any news from Prince Hans?"

"No, nothing yet."

"Does that worry you?" Gerda casually glanced at Elsa in order to get a read on her reaction.

Elsa slowly shrugged nonchalantly, careful not to wake up Henry, "Hans and I figured that communications between us would be difficult due to his meddling brothers. I think I would be more surprised to hear from him rather than _not_ hearing from him."

Gerda stopped what she was doing and looked at Elsa in surprise, "That is an interesting way of looking at it. Nevertheless, it must be hard not knowing about Prince Hans' progress." When she noticed the slight falter in Elsa's calm façade, Gerda made sure to give her queen an encouraging smile, "However, you are a very strong young woman, Queen Elsa. I am proud to call you My Queen."

Gerda's compliment brought a genuine smile to Elsa's face, "And I am proud to call you my friend."

* * *

It was about a quarter past nine in the evening as Hans purposefully strode through the Southern Isles' castle corridors, making a direct path to his father's private parlor. Although he usually met with King Richard in the parlor at exactly nine, Hans sort of lost track of time as he furiously wrote letters to both his family in Corona and Arendelle. All he needed was his father's authorization to send the letters right away so that the letters could be sent out by tonight, which would ensure that both letters would reach their destinations before the festivals. Hans was sure his father would agree to this since both Corona and Arendelle are fierce allies with the Southern Isles.

Hans huffed as he caught sight of a clock in one of the hallways that read 9:17. He knew that every minute he was late would be used against him and he could not afford his father's disapproval. Not when so much was at stake. Upon finally reaching the King's parlor doors, Hans took a few seconds to regain his composure and fix his appearance. Realizing that every little thing had to go his way during this meeting, he took a long deep breath and said a silent pray as he let his knuckles firmly knock on the door.

After a brief time, the doors clicked open and a familiar face popped out, "Good evening, Your Highness."

Hans instinctively cocked his head in surprise, "Leila. I was not expecting anyone to be joining us tonight."

"I was just leaving. Excuse me…" As she slid past him in the doorway, their bodies accidentally brushed against each other in an intimate way, making Leila slightly blush and shyly smile, "Um, your father was complaining about some discomfort in his shoulder so Doctor Var sent me to give him a small pain reliever to subdue any soreness." She bashfully tucked a loose black strand of hair behind her ear as her bold blue eyes temporarily locked with his bright green ones before properly bowing, "Have a good night."

Hans curiously watched her hurry down the hall and turn the corner before he stepped inside the parlor. He could see his father sitting in his favorite chair, staring out through the large ornate windows that over looked the ocean. The candle light in the parlor casted a shadow over King Richard's face, hiding his expression from Hans.

"Good evening, Father." Hans spoke confidently with a proper a bow that could be seen in the window's reflection, "I apologize for my tardiness."

Despite Hans' attempt at properly apologizing, his father did not move from his turned away seat, "Your delay is an unusual change from our standard punctual routine." As his father continued to speak in a low disapproving grumble, Hans noticed a glass filled with wine that was placed by Hans' usual seat. "This would suggest one of two things: you are either losing focus on the tasks that I have given to you or you have a development."

Hans continued to suspiciously eye the glass of wine by his seat, "Father, I promised you that I would find the man who tried to kill you and I intend on keeping my promise." He gradually shifted his eyes toward the back of his father's seat, "That being said, there has been a development."

"How significant?" Richard scoffed, no doubt remembering Hans' last _development_ which was nothing more than a false lead that he made up in order to temporarily please his father's patience.

However, this time Hans was telling the truth and his smug smile revealed his confidence, "Revelational."

The King's booming laughter sounded in the parlor as he stood up and turned to his youngest son in excitement, "Hans, my boy, I knew you wouldn't let me down! Come, have a seat, relax!" Richard pulled his chair around so that he and Hans could face each other to further discuss Hans' news. As they sat he noticed Hans slowly reaching for the glass of wine that had been place by his son's seat, "You don't want this, it's been sitting out. I'll have the servants bring you a fresh glass." Richard swiftly took the glass out of Hans' grasp and motioned for a servant to pour Hans a fresh glass of wine in a clean goblet, "Tell me what has conspired, my son. Do you have the man in custody?"

Hans took a hard look into his fresh glass of wine and swirled it around a bit as he responded, "Not quite. But we are bringing in some conspirators as we speak."

"Conspirators about my shooting, I assume?"

"Actually, it's about something ever bigger than you or this kingdom." Hans took a long sip of his wine in order to build the suspense, "It has been rumored that there will be simultaneous attacks on the Southern Isles mid-summer festival, Corona's festival of lights, and Arendelle's Great Thaw festival. All of which will take place on the same day."

Richard furrowed his brows in deep concern, "That's some coincidence."

"Yes, however, I do not believe in coincidences." Hans placed his glass onto the table beside his seat and gave his father a serious look, "Therefore, I suggest that I write letters of warning to Corona and Arendelle and I ask for your permission to send them out by tonight with great urgency."

King Richard leaned back in his seat and thoughtfully rubbed his beard with a slight nod of the head, letting the information process in his mind. Finally, he firmly responded, "…No."

"No?!" An immediate wave of panic and horror washed over Hans at this unexpected response. He felt his body grow hot as anger began to bubble in his chest and his head whirled as several thoughts raced through his mind, "But Father, they need to be warned-!"

"Hans, stop arguing and think about what you are saying." Despite Richard's harsh words, his demeanor was quite calm and that startled Hans.

"Okay." Hans took a deep breath and decided to play along with whatever madness his father was wading in. With a renewed sense of control, and the tiniest bit of undetectable sarcasm, Hans answered his father, "There are numerous terrorist threats being directed toward the Southern Isles, Corona, and Arendelle. People are going to get hurt, perhaps even killed, unless the kingdoms are warned and prepared for these attacks."

A pleased smile stretched across Richard's face while an unfamiliar sinister look sparkled in his eyes, "Exactly. Think of the benefits."

Hans desperately fought the urge to angrily yell but he continued to speak in a respectfully controlled tone, "I'm sorry, Father, but I am having a hard time seeing how this could benefit us."

"Hans, at the moment, Queen Elsa is solely ruling Arendelle. If disaster should occur under her lone watch, then the people of Arendelle will be praying for your return in hopes of you bringing them peace and safety. This will cause them to lose faith in Elsa and put more of their trust in you." He proudly chuckled at his twisted thoughts, "And if Elsa should get hurt and die because of the attack-"

"Then I will have the throne of Arendelle to myself." Hans numbly responded as he could see the pieces fall into place. His mind started reeling again. Had all this been just a set up to get Hans away from Arendelle so when this planned attack occurred he would not get blamed for it? Did his own father plan this attack in order to get Hans sole rule of Arendelle? Was his father's failed assassination just a ploy? Was Thomas Sullivan even involved in this madness or was the only mad man involved sitting across from Hans at this exact moment? No, this still had to be Vortex's doing because Corona, along with the Southern Isles, was also being targeted. "But what Corona? Why not warn them? We have nothing to gain from their attack."

The sinister look in Richard's eyes subsided as a genuine look of remorse appeared as he sighed with a shrug, "True, I have no conflict with Corona. However, it would look bad on our part if word got around that we warned Corona about the attack but not Arendelle. Corona's attack will be collateral damage but these things happen."

Hans scoffed, "By that logic I assume that we will not warn our own people then? It would look bad if we were prepared but did not warn the others-"

"No." Richard suddenly snapped in a stern tone, "I will not risk my reputation amongst my people. We will send letters of warning to Corona and Arendelle, but they _may_ be a day or two late. That is how we will keep face with our allies."

"Very well. As you wish." Hans kept his voice controlled and tight as he stood up, "I will let you know when we have the conspirators in custody." He bowed before striding towards the door and letting it close behind him with a firm click. He did not break his stoic façade until after he entered his room and locked his bedroom door. He let his emotions overpower him as exhaustion and rage pulsed through his veins. His chest felt heavy and every muscle in his body ached as if the world's weight was bearing down on his shoulders. He grabbed one of the many pillows on his bed and threw it across the room, letting out a loud frustrated shout while doing so. He heaved deep breaths as he collapsed onto the edge of his bed and tiredly rubbed his face, letting the heated anger subside so he could clearly think.

Feeling a renewed sense of calm, he laid down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling above, letting his thoughts drift to Elsa. He wished she were here with him. He wished he could hear her angelic voice and feel her calming touch. He wished she could sit beside him, take his hand into hers and tell him that everything will turn out fine. He wished that none of this ever happened. But it was happening and he knew he what he had to do. He just needed to figure out how. As sleep persuasively washed over him, he hoped that Elsa was doing well with her side of the plan.

* * *

"Alright, Mister Jagger. How is this going to work?" Elsa curiously watched as several guards brought numerous hay bales into James' weapon lab. The guards, one-by-one, stacked and built up a wall of hay against the brick wall on the far side of the lab.

"Well, your guards are setting up a safe environment so the bullets won't hurt anyone." James spoke with a matter-of-fact tone as he fidgeted with the gun in his hand, "The hay bales should prevent any bullets from ricocheting."

"Should?" Elsa cautiously looked up at the Captain of the Royal Guard who was standing beside her with an equally perplexed look on his face.

"Well, I've never had any trouble with this method before. Besides, you have Captain Stephen by your side in case something _should_ happen." He chuckled in amusement as he watched the guards finish putting up the hay bales with the targets in front of them, "Now, there is always a possibility that these prototypes may self-combust upon pulling the trigger. I'm fairly certain that it won't happen, but just in case, you might want to be standing away from me…" He nodded his head further behind him, "Like over there."

Elsa obediently followed James' suggestion as she tool several steps back along with Captain Stephen. As James loaded the weapon, Captain Stephen leaned down and quietly whispered in Elsa's ear, "Are you still sure about this, Your Majesty? I mean, these weapons do not seem to be safe for anyone on either side of the barrel."

"Give it a chance, Captain." Elsa calmly responded despite the small bubble of anxiety that was expanding in her stomach.

"Oh and you might want to cover your ears." James knowingly chuckled as he lifted his good arm towards the target, "These things can seem loud to those who aren't used to it."

Elsa, Captain Stephen and everyone in the room, besides James, covered their ears. Elsa could feel her heart beating rapidly and she could hear her anxious breathes rhythmically synchronize with her pulse. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as James' finger tightened around the trigger followed by the sudden loud crack that rang throughout the room. Every muscle in Elsa's body tightened at that familiar noise and she could have sworn that she felt a small hint of pain stab her injured shoulder. But as soon as she spotted the bullet hole in the target, she knew that it was just her mind playing tricks on her.

"WOW! This baby sure has a kick to it! Let's check the result!" James excitedly placed the gun on the counter and hurried over to the target.

Elsa followed close behind him and upon examining the slit at the edge of the inner most circle on the target, she smiled with relief, "That wasn't so bad. Nearly a perfect shot. Nice job, James."

"Don't thank me yet, Your Majesty." James chuckled as he stepped away from the target and headed back to the counter where the gun was left on, "That was the easy part."

"The easy part?" Elsa furrowed her brow in confusion as she followed James through the lab.

"Yes." James took a deep breath as he grabbed five bullets from one of the lab tables, "Now it's time to test the multi-shot aspect of the gun."

Unlike the first test, James loaded all five bullets into the revolver and snapped the cylinder back into place. While doing so, Elsa and Captain Stephen nervously took a couple more cautionary steps back and plugged their ears as they anticipated the gun's startling crack. Once again, James raised his good arm and expertly aimed at the new target. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, James pulled the trigger not once, but five times in a rapidly swift movement.

Similar to his first shot, the bullet tore through the edge of the inner most circle on the target but the following shots moved further away from the bullseye at unsettling increments as the gun's recoil seemed to get more violent after each shot. By the time James pulled the trigger for the fifth time, the recoil was so intense that his normally steady arm as thrown back as the final bullet shot out from the barrel. However, the gun's aim was so far off that it missed the target and the hay bales completely as the bullet ricocheted off the stone wall adjacent to it. Before anyone could properly react, the bullet ricocheted off another stone wall before course correcting towards Elsa and Captain Stephen.

Captain Stephen instinctively darted in front of Elsa in order to take the bullet for her but in the blink of an eye there was a white flash and the bullet swerved out of harm's way and heavily dropped to the floor in a chilling ear piercing glass-like shatter. Everyone froze in alarmed shock as they stared at the icy remains of the bullet on the ground. However, Captain Stephen broke the silence as he hurried towards his Queen who was on the floor in utter surprise, "Queen Elsa?! Are you alright?!"

As he kneeled down in front of her, she broke out of her trance and gave him an embarrassed smile, "Yes, I am quite fine. How about you?" She gratefully took his outstretched hand as he helped her off the floor.

"I am indebted to you, my Queen. You saved my life." His breathing was fast and uneven due to all of the adrenaline pulsing through his veins, "How did you do that?"

"I'm not sure…" Elsa, too, was speaking at an out-of-breath pace, "It all happened so fast. All I can clearly recall was the bullet ricocheting off the walls and you running ahead of me. The rest was just protective instinct, I guess." She shrugged as her hands began to anxiously fidget and intertwine with each other behind her back.

Doctor Omsorg rubbed his face as the shock began to wear off, "It was quite incredible actually." He noticed that everyone was looking at him with intense curiosity so he figured that he should elaborate, "I saw the whole thing. Queen Elsa shot a powerful and precise ice blast at the oncoming bullet that, upon impact, caused it to swerve. The sheer weight of the ice-encased bullet caused it to exponentially drop to the floor and shatter upon impact. She dove nearly six feet to the right in order to avoid hitting Captain Stephen with her ice and because of the trajectory of the oncoming ice blast, it caused the bullet to swerve left and miss him."

"But where's the bullet?" A guard contemplated as he searched the shards.

As Elsa stepped forward to investigate the shattered ice, she felt her foot kick something hard and heavy. She glanced down at the item and her eyes widened in realization, "I believe I found it…" She bent down and picked up the pointed tip of the bullet, "Or at least part of it."

"You broke the bullet?" Captain Stephen wondered out loud as he stepped up behind Elsa.

"She must have frozen the high speed bullet so intensely that not only did the ice shatter on impact, but so did the bullet itself." Doctor Omsorg gave his signature fatherly smile as he proudly remarked, "I am impressed, Your Majesty."

Elsa did not make any comment as she turned from the scene and hurried over to where James was sitting on the ground across the lab with his face hidden in his palm. "Mister Jagger?" She cautiously stepped closer to him, "Are you alright?"

"I almost did it again…" His voice was quiet and nervous sounding, like an ashamed little boy waiting for his mother to yell at him for his mistakes.

"Almost did what?" When he would not answer, she leaned down next to him and spoke with a kind but firm voice as she continued to press him for more information, "James?"

"I almost killed you _again_." His voice slightly quivered as he spoke the last word. "I knew I should not have started making weapons again. They only destroy things. _I_ only destroy things."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, James. It was just a mistake." She lighted rested a gentle hand on his shoulder, "Trust me, I know how you feel. To truly fear that everything you create will end in nothing but disaster." She cocked her head lower so that their eyes could meet, "But I need you to also trust me when I tell you that you cannot live your life fearing the thing that makes you who you are. For me it was my powers and for you it is making these inventions that will protect us. The kingdom you love and the people you love. That's what you said last night, correct?"

He lifted his head in surprise as he continued to hold her soft gaze, "You remembered?"

"Yes. Why is that so surprising?"

"Well, I'm a prisoner here. I figured that my words carry little to no meaning."

"Mister Jagger, I do not let just anyone build weapons for my kingdom." She stood up and dusted herself off before offering him her hand.

He gratefully took her hand without hesitation as she helped him get to his feet, "So I'm not a prisoner?"

"No, you are. But you are not _just_ a prisoner." She let a small smile crack her aloof expression before addressing the others in the lab, "Gentlemen, I believe we should leave Mister Jagger to his work." Without waiting for a response, she turned and left the lab.

* * *

 **Phew! That was quite a bit of story! I was super happy that I was able to finally write some Helsa fluff (as been requested)! Plus a little bit of mystery as to what was going on with King Richard during his meeting with Hans (the wine glass)? Also, I wanted to dive into more of Elsa discovering just how powerful her magic can be (freezing the bullet). I also enjoyed developing James' character a little more as we start to see a strange connection between him and Elsa. I know that some chapters may seem like they are just full of exposition and fluff but trust me, if you reread several of the past chapters, I have left numerous breadcrumbs that elude to what is coming up. Next, the suspense builds as the three summer festivals approach and we get to see how each kingdom will responds to this upcoming disaster.**

 **Thanks again to all of my readers who have stuck by me and my story! Please review and leave your feedback so I know how I can improve or if I should just keep doing what I am doing. Thank you and have a great week! :)**


	13. Author's Note (Good News!)

**Author's Note: Hi Everyone! I know it has been a while since I have last updated and I am completely aware of how annoying it is for me to just stop writing all of a sudden. But rest assure, I have NOT given up on this story and I will update very very soon. I realize that my absence has irked and irritated most, if not all, of my readers/followers and I truly apologize. I feel like I should explain my situation and the reasons behind my absence so here we go...**

 **I have been extremely busy since August with a full-time internship on top of a part-time job on top of being a full-time student at my university. To add to the stress, this past semester was my final semester as an undergrad and I am proud to announce that I have officially graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Chemistry! Yay! Even better, the lab that I interned at offered me a position to continuing working with them as a full-time employee, which I gratefully accepted! Double yay! So, in conclusion (I feel like I have been rambling on for a while), I am now busy working throughout the week HOWEVER since I am no longer going to school I have no more homework/studying which means that my weekends have cleared up beautifully...which means more writing for me and, more importantly, more updates for all of you! Triple yay!**

 **So let's get down to business...I have some of the next chapter written up already but it's turning into a really lengthy chapter so here are some options:**

 **-Option (1) I hold off on the next chapter and write up a summary chapter reviewing what has occurred in WH3 and make that my next update.**

 **-Option (2) I continuing working on the next chapter and try to get that updated sooner than later but I will leave it up to you all to refresh the previous chapters on your own.**

 **-Option (3) I write up a quick summary (maybe just a bullet point list of main points) and also add on a short excerpt of the next chapter.**

 **I am still assuming that most of my readers would prefer longer chapters with longer update waiting periods instead of short chapters/short update waiting periods as I had previously taking a poll of your preferences and the longer chapters seemed to be the favorite. If this has changed, please let me know and I will have no problem accommodating the majority preference.**

 **I would like to express a final thank you to everyone who has not given up on me and my story. I realize that it is only fair of me to expect that a large majority of my readers/followers may have lost interest in this trilogy of stories and I take full responsibility for that. I understand that you may have moved on to other things and I do not think it would be fair of me to expect everyone to jump back on the Warm Hugs Series bandwagon just because I have emerged from my hiatus. But for those who have encouraged me and waited patiently for some sort of activity from this account/story, I have no worthy words to express my gratitude for your kindness other than thank you...thank you from the bottom of my heart.**

 **In conclusion (now I have REALLY been rambling for a while) please let me know about which option you would like to go with and whether or not the longer chapters/longer updating waiting period still is preferred. You can leave your opinions in the review section of WH3 or you can feel free to private message me. Thank you all for everything you have done for me and this series and I hope all is well on your side of the screen.**

 **Best,**

 _ **SarahRapunzel**_


	14. Chapter 14: Chapter Summaries (Part I)

**Hi Everyone! It turned out that Option 3 was the favorite choice! So I was going to do brief summaries of each chapter but somehow they turned out to be more detailed than expected so this "chapter" will contain brief summaries of the _first_ 6 chapters Warm Hugs 3. I'll attach the Chapter 13 sneak peek to the next update that will contain the _last_ 6 chapters of Warm Hugs 3. So let's get started! Enjoy  & (as always) Happy Reading! :)**

 **Summaries:**

 _ **CHAPTER 1:**_

 ***Terrible summer storms have plagued Arendelle**

 ***Hans took Arendelle's fleet out for a few days**

 ***Olaf is visiting Marshmellow & Snowgies up in the North Mountain**

 ***Elsa (3 months pregnant) left "alone" at castle**  
-Finished all her queenly duties and tries to avoid boredom  
-Helps take care of Henry (Annaliese sick with stomach flu)  
-Bonds with Henry and daydreams of life with her and Hans' baby  
-Suffers from terrifying nightmare about losing her baby and experiences stomach pains  
-Henry and Elsa notice the Arendelle fleet has returned...Hans is back!

 ***Anna & Kristoff are gone on their honeymoon**  
-Staying at isolated cabin in North Mountain  
-Kristanna fluff  
-Olaf shows up unexpectedly (scaring the newly weds) & accidentally reveals that Elsa has been unusually tired (taking naps throughout day) and Hans is gone with Arendelle fleet  
-Anna grows worried and insists that they head back to Arendelle despite the terrible weather

 ***Chapter ends with a mysterious guest visiting Thomas Sullivan at the prison in Great Britain**  
-Sullivan is glad to see guest and responds with a spine-chilling grin..."What took you so long?"

 _ **CHAPTER 2:**_

 ***Elsa excitedly rushes to the courtyard to meet Hans  
-**Realizes that she cannot run outside into the cold rain with Henry in her arms...decides to sit & wait on the landing by the main castle door

 ***Heartfelt conversation with Gerda**  
-Gerda enters castle and questions Elsa's presence by the drafty doorway  
-Elsa admits that she is waiting for her husband...ashamed because her council has mentioned that, as the Queen of Arendelle, she must not look weak and dependent upon her husband by acting like a "clingy love-sick girl"  
-Gerda is clearly put out with the council saying, "Is this the same council that made you take a husband because they claimed you needed a man by your side in order to properly rule this kingdom? _That_ council? Lord have mercy, I swear those men are only put on this earth to manipulate you and destroy whatever self-confidence you have. If you want my honest opinion, your father, rest his soul, assigned those men to the council shortly after losing his best friend, James Jagger. James was originally the one who was in charge of assigning King Agdar's council but when he supposedly 'died', the daunting task fell onto your father's shoulders. Everything was arranged in a disorganized rush and the result is the headache you are dealing with to this day."  
-Elsa takes this as a hint to terminate her current council and create a council of her own to which Gerda responds that Elsa's life is full of stability and support from her beloved family and that this once daunting task could be harmless now  
-Gerda also mentions that Elsa should never feel ashamed of expressing her loving feelings for Hans (while also keeping things professional when need be)  
-Elsa decides to think about her friend's wise words as she trades tasks with Gerda...Gerda goes to feed Henry while Elsa goes out to the courtyard to hand out towels

 ***Hans' arrival  
** -Upon finishing her task, Elsa spots Hans entering courtyard and runs out into the rain to meet him  
-Hans is surprised by her sudden desire to show affection in public to which Elsa responds, "Just shut up and kiss me, Admiral Westergard." He happily obliges and this leads to an intimate moment between them  
-They hurry to their bedroom to dry off and (in Hans' case) warm up  
-Helsa fluff

 ***Helsa Conversation**  
-Hans asks Elsa about her discomfort about him going out into a storm similar to the one that killed her parents  
-Elsa admits that she was terrified but she also cannot let her fears get in the way of what is best for Arendelle's navy  
-Elsa remembered her nightmare regarding her parents taking away her baby...this leads to more stomach pains  
-Hans is very concerned but Elsa shrugs it off as hunger pains

 ***Family Reunion**  
-Elsa and Hans are in the middle of dinner when Kai interrupts, informing them that Anna and Kristoff have returned from their honeymoon  
-Elsa (& Hans) excitedly hurries to meet Anna and Kristoff just as they step through the main castle doors  
-Anna is surprised by Hans' presence (thinking he was still out at sea) and she is slightly irked that he left Elsa alone while she was not feeling well  
-Hans is surprised to receive news that Elsa was not feeling well which leads to Elsa announcing that she is pregnant  
-Anna is over-the-top excited as she and Kristoff congratulate the couple

 ***Chapter ends with another visit from mysterious guest**  
-Sullivan questions guest if everyone is in position  
-Guest is clearly irritated by remark and responds, "Are you telling me how to do my job?"  
-Sullivan clarifies by stating that the guards are growing suspicious  
-Guest assures him, mentioning a man on the inside  
-Sullivan inquires about his escape but the guest just responds, "If you can't do the time, don't do the crime. Or at least don't get caught."  
-Sullivan is insulted by the remark and angrily argues that he would not be here if it were not for those "royal brats"  
-Guest reminds Sullivan that he underestimated them which was his biggest fault and that they learned from his mistakes and they will not fail this time

 _ **CHAPTER 3:**_

 ***A week has passed since everyone returned back to Arendelle & the storm has also lightened up**

 ***Helsa crisis  
** -Elsa has been experiencing more stomach pains but she is keeping her pain to herself  
-After another restless night's sleep, Elsa sits by the window and watches the sun rise as Hans wakes up  
-They converse about Hans' plans with the fleet and he decides that he will probably take them out to sea tomorrow for another week  
-He asks Elsa if that she is okay with that in fear that Anna will yell at him again...this makes Elsa laugh and reassures him that she is fine  
-As Hans goes into the bathroom to prepare for the day, Elsa reminisces about her nightmare again  
-Another sharp pain snaps her out of her thoughts, except this time the pain is not subsiding...Elsa collapses onto the floor and tries to call out to Hans. In a final effort to get his attention, she shoots an icicle at the mirror causing a loud crash that causes Hans to run back into the room  
-Hans is scared and panicked when he notices some blood on the floor and gently picks her up and hurries to Doctor Omsorg's room/office  
-Doctor Omsorg takes control of the situation as he asks Elsa questions and does a brief examination of her current state...he assures Hans that she will be fine and that she will stay under his watch for the day and he sends Hans on his way

 ***Brief Hans/Annaliese interaction**  
-Annaliese (& Henry) finds Hans standing outside Doctor Omsorg's office and inquires about what is happening  
-Hans lies and says that everything is fine and asks Annaliese about her recovery of her stomach flu  
-Annaliese laughed off the situation and explained how thankful she was for everyone who helped take care of Henry for her and asked Hans to give Elsa her thanks as well  
-Annaliese goes off to feed Henry as William finds Hans and inquires about what is happening since Hans is late for the morning drills with the fleet  
-Hans completely forgot about the morning drills and he mentally tells himself to "pull yourself together. She's going to be fine and I've got a job to do." He goes off to continue his day

 ***Back in London**  
-Sullivan receives his breakfast by means of a different guard and notices a "V" written in the beans...buried at the bottom of the bowl of beans is a small envelope with a note that reads, " _Phase 1 complete. Phase 2 is a go. Standby for further instruction._ "  
-He is clearly pleased by this note as he remarks, "It has begun."

 ***Elsa's heartbreak**  
-Dinner time is approaching as Doctor Omsorg inquires about how Elsa is feeling...she is pleased that the pain has disappeared  
-Elsa is curious about her family's whereabouts...Doctor Omsorg admits that he sent Hans away to avoid causing her extra stress and that Anna & Kristoff went back up the North Mountain to bring back their belonging from their honeymoon  
-When Elsa asks about how much longer she will have the stomach pains, the doctor tells her that the pain will no longer return  
-Elsa's relief is short lived when the doctor regretfully informs her that the stomach pains had to do with the baby and that she has suffered a miscarriage  
-Elsa is in disbelief in how she can just "lose" the baby and she immediately blames herself and her powers, despite Doctor Omsorg telling her that miscarriages are unfortunately quite common  
-Elsa orders the doctor to leave her alone as she could feel herself losing control of her emotions/powers...once he leaves, she freezes the door shut to ensure isolation

 ***Miscarriage news**  
-Anna and Kristoff are walking through town, heading back to the castle just in time for dinner, and they run into Hans  
-Hans expresses his concern about Elsa's health which causes them to hurry back to the castle  
-While Anna and Kristoff deal with their luggage, Hans races into the castle and to Doctor Omsorg's office...Hans is horrified when he see the doctor dejectedly sitting outside in the hallway and assumes the worst  
-The doctor assures Hans that Elsa is alright given the circumstance which leads to him informing Hans about Elsa's miscarriage  
-Hans is stunned as he inquires about Elsa's reaction and the doctor tells him that she has locked herself in the recovery room and that she is blaming herself and her powers for the miscarriage  
-The doctor also mentioned that if Elsa's powers were the cause of the miscarriage then that would mean that they could never have children (he also mentioned that he did not tell Elsa about this theory)  
-Hans goes inside and heads for the ice covered door...his heart breaks when he hears Elsa crying on the other side. Tears sting his eyes as he pleads for her to let him in and although she warns him that it is not safe he insists that he does not care, he only wants to see her  
-To his surprise, the door handle thaws and he pries the door open to find Elsa curled up against the wall behind the door  
-He sits beside her and sympathizes with her on her loss to which Elsa replies, "I"m sorry for _our_ loss." She continues to apologize for letting him down but he interrupts her and assures her that this was not her fault and that they will get through this difficult time  
-Elsa begins to doubt her chances at motherhood but Hans assures her that they will do whatever it takes and wait however long it takes to have a family  
-Anna and Kristoff enter the room already aware of the miscarriage and Anna immediately sits beside her sister to comfort her and Kristoff expresses his condolences as well

 _ **CHAPTER 4:**_

 ***A few days after the heartbreaking news...Elsa's meltdown  
-**Elsa had been keeping herself isolated in her room while those who knew of the tragedy told everyone else that Elsa was just sick (in order to give her privacy)  
-Elsa sat by the window, disgusted with herself and her inability to provide an heir for her kingdom and a child for Hans  
-She noticed the small family portrait of her, Anna, and the late King and Queen sitting on her nightstand, this triggered her to remember her nightmare and anger builds up inside her when she realized that her nightmare was not just a dream, it was a warning...a vision  
-Out of anger she threw the portrait across the room while yelling that they took her baby away  
-Anna poked her head into the room and when Elsa began to blame Anna for letting them take her baby away, she signaled for Kristoff (who was waiting in the hall) to go get Hans  
-Anna tried to calm her sister down but Elsa bolted out of the room as she felt claustrophobic and out of breath  
-Elsa regained her composure upon stepping outside and letting the rain wash over her frazzled nerves  
-She heard a little boy call her "Mama" and she was surprised when she looked down to find a young boy with ice-blue eyes and dark red hair looking up at her  
-Elsa cautiously called him by the name she gave her baby boy in her dream (Ben) and he joyfully responded as he excitedly grabbed her hand led her up a narrow pathway

 ***Hans' reaction**  
-Hans was standing at the edge of the docks watching his crew run through their exercises out in the fjord until Kristoff ran up to him with a panicked expression on his face, informing him that Elsa was beginning to lash out  
-Hans immediately hurries back toward the castle and on the way he and Kristoff share a brief heart-to-heart chat about Hans' reaction to the miscarriage  
-Upon entering the castle courtyard, Anna runs out to meet them and is worried that she cannot find her sister  
-Hans immediately runs to his and Elsa's secret spot on the hill overlooking Arendelle but to his disappointment, Elsa is not there

 ***Anna's realization**  
-Anna and Kristoff are investigating Elsa's bedroom for clues of her whereabouts  
-Anna tells Kristoff that Elsa accused her of letting them take her baby away and Kristoff responds "But you also said that she mentioned it was a dream"  
-Anna is still concerned that her sister dreamed about something so disturbing...then she mentions how horrible it would be if _she_ was pregnant  
-Kristoff laughs until he realizes that Anna was subtly hinting that she could be pregnant which leads to him slightly freaking out, much to Anna's bemusement  
-They both agree to not tell anyone until the doctor confirms/denies it  
-Hans hurries into the room mentioning that he could not find Elsa...he notices that the tension and asks if everything is okay  
-Kristoff explains that they were searching for clues about Elsa's whereabouts  
-Anna discovers the old (now broken) family portrait and she realizes where Elsa went

 ***Elsa's closure**  
-Elsa follows the little boy leading her up the narrow trail, asking him if he was _her_ Benjamin to which he giggles and assures him that he is her Ben  
-Elsa is puzzled when they reached their destination...the late King and Queen's memorial site that stood at the edge of a tall bluff overlooking the ocean  
-Ben has Elsa sit between the two memorial stones and he climbs onto her lap, asking why she was mad at Grandpa and Grandma  
-Elsa explains that she was not mad but rather sad that they took away someone very precious to her  
-Ben explains that they were sad about it too but it had to happen because something big (he does not know what) is coming that will require all of her heart, energy, and strength, therefore now was not the right time for her to have a baby  
-Ben gives her a warm hug, telling her that she would have been the "best mommy ever" and that he loves her and Papa. He then waves goodbye as he disappears into the fog

 ***Family reunion**  
-Anna, Kristoff, and Hans hurry up the narrow path towards the late King and Queen's memorial site to find the area enveloped by thick fog  
-For safety purposes, they agree to hold hands in order to ensure that if one should accidentally step off the bluff they could be pulled back to safety  
-Hans insists on leading the group (much to Anna's dislike) into the fog in order to continue the search for Elsa and once Hans notices a dark figure in the distance, he lets go of Anna and hurries toward the figure  
-He realizes that the figure is his wife and as he tries to talk to her, she keeps telling him to stop and stand back but when he does not listen she freezes his feet where he stands which happens to be the edge of the bluff  
-Elsa is clearly aggravated that he did not listen but she could not help but smirk and banter with him when he complained that his feet were getting cold  
-Hans is surprised by her shift in behavior and Elsa explains that she knows the truth...she then explains to him that they could not afford to have a baby right now because something big was coming and that they could not afford distrations  
-Hans is very confused about what she is saying: "Hold on...what? Elsa, you're speaking in tongues" to which she responds, "You don't need to understand, you just need to trust me"  
-They are interrupted by Anna and Kristoff's arrival and Anna worriedly reprimands Elsa for scaring her to which Elsa apologizes and admits that she ran away because she did not want to hurt her again  
-Anna gives her sister a warm hug and insists that she will never hurt her because she "just knows these things"  
-Anna then brings up the idea to grab some dinner and chocolate espressos to which Elsa eagerly agrees to

 ***Family time**  
-The group of four is relaxing in the parlor, listening to Anna tell the story about how she and Kristoff received a surprise visitor (Olaf) during their honeymoon  
-Gerda enters the parlor to deliver the chocolate espressos and as Anna eager accepts the drink and returns to her story, Kristoff subtly hints to Anna that perhaps she should avoid drinking her espresso because of her restless nights (lying to cover up the possible pregnancy)  
-Elsa is concerned about this but Anna laughs it off and mentions that she is just happy that Elsa seems to be bouncing back although she also assures her sister that should definitely take her time going through the grieving process  
-Elsa admits that she would be lying to say that she is doing fine, but "I am doing better and that feels good for the moment"  
-The clock strikes 11 and they all say good night and go their separate ways

 ***Helsa heart-to-heart**  
-While getting ready for bed, Elsa asks Hans if he believes in ghost...which he says that he does not but he does believe in guardian angels  
-Hans explains how he's had vision-like dreams since he was little about reuniting with his mom and when Elsa asks about whether he's ever had a vision-like dream about her, he explains the two dreams he had when they were in Sperca (one about Elsa getting killed in the forest by the crossbow & the other about how they were to escape from the rebellion)  
-He then remembered that Annaliese wanted him to give Elsa her thanks for her help in watching Henry when she was sick  
-Although he tries to avoid bringing it up (in order to not upset her), Elsa convinces him to tell her because "I need to be able to talk about things like this without becoming an emotional wreck"  
\- When he sees Elsa trying to hold back the tears, he comforts her and lets her know that it's okay for her to cry if she wants to  
-Elsa rests her head on his chest and although she did not make a sound, Hans could feel her tears through his shirt...making his heart ache as she silently cried herself to sleep

 ***Surprise visit**  
-Kai wakes them up in the middle of the night saying that they have a visitor from the Southern Isles  
-Hans immediately assumes it is his father to which Kai responds, "It's not your father, Your Majesty, it's _about_ your father"

 _ **CHAPTER 5:**_

 ***Brotherly visit**  
-Turns out that Hans' eldest brother, Prince Klaus, is the surprise visitor  
-Upon arriving to Hans' study, Elsa notices the similarities between Prince Klaus, King Richard, and Hans...and also how intimidating Klaus appears  
-Hans greets his brother and introduces him to Elsa while Elsa notices a dramatic shift in her husband's disposition  
-Klaus explains that there has been an assassination attempt on their father, King Richard, during their summer festival but he will survive with only a shoulder wound...this makes Elsa think back to when she was shot in the shoulder by Thomas Sullivan in London  
-Klaus also explains that King Richard has requested that all of his sons return to the Southern Isles  
-Elsa is suspicious of this request and insinuates that this "attempted assassination" was just a ploy to bring the real target (one of the other Southern Isles princes) to the Southern Isles ...meaning that this assassin is an expert  
-Hans asks if they questioned the assassin, only to find out that the assassin escaped...Hans is not happy about this and asks if they examined the bullet, which they did not  
-Hans is about to turn his father's request down, until Klaus pleads with him, saying that "Father specifically requested that I travel here and escort you home."  
-Hans tells him that he'll think about it, to which his brother responds "Please take your consideration seriously"

 ***Something big**  
-Back in their bedroom, Hans and Elsa both agree that Vortex is probably behind this...although they are unsure what since Thomas Sullivan is behind bars in London and they have James Jagger locked up here in Arendelle  
-Hans mentions what Sullivan told them about how Vortex was larger than they thought and that perhaps what they experienced only the tip of the iceberg  
-Elsa recalls what Ben told her about something big coming and she realizes that this could be it  
-Hans asks Elsa what he should do and she tells him that she obviously does not want him to go but she feels like he should go because "technically speaking, if this is Vortex, aren't we the ones who kind of set them off?"  
-Hans assures her that this is not their fault but Elsa points out that they are included in a small number of people who know about this organization and that if Hans goes back to the Southern Isles he can help them catch this person because without him they would be lost  
-Hans is still unsure about leaving her during this difficult time and asks if she really thinks its for the best that he goes  
-Elsa confesses that it's not the best for her but it is the best for his family, his kingdom, and the world...she also states that she is too logical to argue with stakes like that  
-Hans mentions that it could be a trap but Elsa argues that there's no real proof that Vortex is even behind the assassination attempt since the bullet could not be examined...the possibilities are endless since his father has so many enemies

 ***Surprise guest/news**  
-On their way to breakfast, Kristoff and Anna nervously chat about Anna's doctors appointment and the possibility of being pregnant  
-Upon entering the dining room, they are surprised to see a new guest sitting at the table  
-Klaus introduces himself but Anna is suspicious about his presence and she boldly inquires about his visit  
-Before Klaus can answer, Hans interrupts as he and Elsa enter the dining room  
-Once the food has been served, Anna can feel this unknown tension in the air and asks Klaus about his purpose in Arendelle again  
-Klaus explains the situation with the attempt assassination and is slightly perplexed when Anna also asks if they examined the bullet  
-When Klaus gets to the part about escorting Hans back to the Southern Isles, Anna is shocked and upset and is not afraid to express her displeased opinion considering everything that's happened (although she withholds mentioning anything about Sperca, Hans' "death", London, Vortex, Hans' mother, or the miscarriage)  
-Elsa curtly shuts down Anna's behavior by telling her that the decision has already been made about Hans' departure and the ship leaves by noon  
-Anna angrily states that "this is a mistake" and tries to calmly leave the room  
-Kristoff finally speaks up and mentions that he respects their decision and then excuses himself to go find Anna

 ***Kristanna conversation**  
-Kristoff catches up to Anna in the hallway and they discuss the peculiarity of the situation  
-While Anna goes into Doctor Omsorg's office for her appointment, she tells Kristoff to go talk to Hans & Elsa to get more information about what is truly happening

 ***The plan**  
-Elsa sadly watches as Hans begins packing and they discuss whether or not they are making the right decision  
-Hans confesses his worry about going back and having to revert to his old cunning ways  
-Elsa notices that he keeps looking at the door and he admits that it's only a matter of time before Anna barges in and yells at him for leaving  
-When someone knocks on the door, Hans goes into the bathroom to hide as Elsa answers the door and is surprised to find Kristoff  
-Kristoff asks them what's really going on and Elsa & Hans explains that they believe Vortex is calling them out and trying to separate Hans from the rest of the family in order to weaken them...which confuses Kristoff even more  
-They continue to explain that they want to get ahead of whatever Vortex is planning and that's why Hans is going to the Southern Isles in order to catch the assassin and get to the bottom of the plot before Vortex reaches its full potential  
-Kristoff still isn't completely convinced but he trusts that they know what they're doing  
-Once Kristoff leaves, Hans takes Elsa's hand and leads her somewhere for a surprise

 ***Doctor's appointment**  
-Doctor Omsorg is going through a standard checkup for Anna's possible pregnancy (despite Anna's ticklish behaviors) when Kristoff comes in  
-Doctor Omsorg mentions to Kristoff how ticklish Anna is and Kristoff teases her about how he found that out on their wedding night...this of course embarrasses Anna  
-Doctor Omsorg assures the couple that Anna is not pregnant, which is a huge relief for them  
-Once the doctor leaves, Anna tells /Kristoff to tell her everything that he found out from talking with Elsa and Hans

 ***Surprise run-in**  
-As Klaus was wandering around the castle, he ran into someone he was not expecting to see...Annaliese  
-Annaliese is just as surprised and asks what he is doing in Arendelle  
-He explains the assassination situation and Annaliese is not happy about him escorting Hans back to the Southern Isles  
-Klaus asks her where Kendrick is and Annaliese confesses that he was killed by rebels at their safe house following an attack on the castle (she avoids mentioning Hans and Elsa)  
-Klaus is upset that his brother has been dead for over a year and he's just now hearing about this  
-He also asks why Annaliese took refuge in Arendelle and did not come to the Southern Isles instead...as well as how she knew that Hans was even in Arendelle and that Queen Elsa had spared his life  
-Annaliese easily tells him convincing lies to protect Hans and Elsa  
-Klaus also asks if she had any kids with Kendrick...she lies and says no  
-Annaliese volunteers to go to the Southern Isles on Kendrick's behalf and after some convincing, Klaus agrees  
-As soon as the conversation ends, Annaliese immediately goes off to find Hans and Elsa

 ***Final moments**  
-Hans continues to lead Elsa somewhere for a surprise...she's thinking that they are headed for their special spot on the hill overlooking Arendelle but she becomes confused when he takes her down a hallway that leads to the opposite direction of the gardens  
-Finally they arrive at the ballroom and Elsa is still confused...until Hans begins to reenact the first time they danced together in Sperca  
-The two spend a beautiful moment dancing in the ballroom together as Hans hums the first song they danced to  
-Finally the moment ends and Elsa peacefully rests her head against his chest as they continued to sway together, mentioning that she was surprised that he remembered  
-He explains that he's had a lot of life changing moments in his past that had unfortunately changed him for the worse, so when he finally experienced one that changed him for the better he never forgot  
-He adds that she has been so good to him and that he could never repay her, to which she responds that they can call it even if he comes back home to her alive and in one piece  
-Hans agrees to the deal and gently kisses her...Elsa realizes how that was the first time they had kissed since the miscarriage and Hans remarks that it's a shame that it had to be under these disheartening conditions  
-Elsa wistfully mentions that he should get back to packing and as they head for the doors, Hans abruptly stops and turns serious as he tells her that in the event that he does not return he enjoyed their last dance together  
-Elsa's eyes fill with sorrow and as he tries to explain himself, she cuts him off with a feverent kiss...this leads to an intimate Helsa moment  
-Afterwards Elsa makes Hans promise her that he will never let fear or doubt creep into his mind, because once he starts thinking like that then his fate is already sealed  
-Hans seals his promise to her with a kiss that lingers a little longer than intended which leads them to an even more intimate Helsa moment

 ***Change of plans**  
-Anna continues to grill Kristoff about what he found out from talking with Hans and Elsa...but she is still unhappy with the information he is giving her  
-They arrive to Hans and Elsa's bedroom and Anna knocks on their door, wanting to talk with them  
-Elsa responds from the other side of the door, "Hold on. Just give us a moment" and as they wait outside the door they hear a lot of shuffling and laughing coming from inside the bedroom...Kristoff mentions that they might have caught them at an inconvenient time  
-Elsa opens the door for them as she wraps her hair into a bun and clips it in place while Anna apologizes for her behavior at breakfast  
-As Elsa continues to fix her rumpled appearance, she accepts Anna's apology and subtly tells Anna that she better not be here to question their decision about Hans leaving because they already told Kristoff everything  
-Anna notices that Hans is nowhere to be found and she asks about his whereabouts he walks out of the bathroom, looking a bit disheveled, and asks Anna if she's here to yell at him for leaving Elsa  
-Anna comments that her anger has dissolved but she is concerned about what's going to happen to Arendelle if Vortex attacks them while Hans is gone  
-Hans assures her that although he may be gone, their military will still be here and ready...besides they've got the most powerful queen in the world on the throne  
-Just then rapid knocking sounds on the door and Hans opens the door to find a stressed-looking Annaliese who reveals that she ran into Kendrick but she did not tell him anything about what happened in Sperca (or Henry) and that she is going with Hans to the Southern Isles

 _ **CHAPTER 6:**_

 ***Change of plans (continued)**  
-Everyone is bewildered about why Annaliese volunteered to go with Hans and she confesses that she panicked when he started asking too many questions but also she wanted to protect him since she grew up seeing his brothers beat Hans every day and she couldn't imagine what would happen to him if they found out the truth about what happened in Sperca  
-Anna asks why Sperca was such a big secret and Hans explains that the events that occurred there would raise questions about his loyalty to the Southern Isles  
-Hans comments that having Annaliese along could help him keep his cover and he tells Annaliese that she should go start packing  
-Annaliese admits that she's worried about Henry and Elsa volunteers to take care of Henry for her as a way to thank her for taking care of Hans for her  
-Annaliese is relieved and accidentally hugs Elsa out of gratitude before sheepishly apologizing and hurrying away to go pack  
-Elsa asks Anna and Kristoff to leave as well so she could privately talk with Hans  
-Once alone together, Hans nervously assumes that Elsa is not pleased with him travelling with his former lover but Elsa assures him that she let that suspicion go a while back and that she is more concerned about figuring out a new plan instead

 ***The threat**  
-With a half hour left before the ship to Southern Isles departs, Hans and Elsa meet up with an impatient-looking Klaus...this leads to slight brotherly banter  
-Elsa asks Klaus to accompany her to her study so that she may give him a letter written for his father  
-Upon entering her study, Elsa notices that Klaus is closely examining her office and upon her asking him if he is looking for something, he inquires why she dragged him all the way to her study just to give him a letter that she had in her possession the entire time  
-Elsa admits that he is right and he tells her that it is clear that she does not trust him...Elsa agrees and tells him that he has not given her a reason to trust him  
-Klaus begins to make light about Hans' abusive childhood but Elsa immediately debunks him and defends her husband  
-Klaus admits that he never abused Hans and that the younger five brothers bullied Hans and that the middle three brothers pretended that he was invisible  
-Elsa makes a jab at him saying that him not doing anything to protect his youngest brother makes her question his integrity and ignorance  
-Klaus was not pleased being spoken down to by a women younger than him and he began making jabs at her, saying that he is not a monster like her and that he never killed Hans like how she froze Anna to death and how if it weren't for his power hungry brother, Anna would not be here  
-Elsa tells him to back off and not to test her but he blows off her threat and questions what she was hoping to accomplish by this confrontation  
-Elsa tells him that she wanted to warn him that if something should happen to Hans or Annaliese then he will have to answer to her...as she makes this statement, she sharply outstretched her arm and shot an icicle toward Klaus that narrowly missed his neck by an inch and pierced the wall beside him  
-Klaus is clearly shaken up and agrees that he understands her warning  
-Elsa dismisses him from her study and as the rainstorm returns, she is pleased with herself as she says out loud to no one, "That went well"

 ***Farewell**  
-Elsa slowly makes her way back to the main entrance where everyone is gathered to say goodbye...despite the plan that she and Hans came up with, there was still the chance that everything could go wrong and that she may never see her husband again which worried her...however she put on her usual brave facade upon reaching the group, where Hans seems to be smiling although she can tell that his smile is clearly fake  
-Anna expresses one last time that they should stay for "weather" reasons but she gives Hans a big warm hug, telling him to take care and come back  
-Hans returns the hug and tells Anna to take care of Elsa for him...he then gives Kristoff a firm handshake and tells him that he is the man of the castle now and that he knows he won't take the responsibility lightly  
-Kristoff smirks as he shakes his hand and tells him to take care  
-Finally Hans turns to his wife, saying that he does not know what to say...she responds that he does not need to say anything and that he just has to remember the promise he made her  
-Hans delicately kisses her but she breaks off the kiss before they can get carried away...she whispers "I love you" to him and he responds "And I love you"  
-Elsa quietly mentions for him to not forget the plan but above all else, come back home to her  
-He responds, "As you wish, my Queen" as he rests a kiss upon her hand before turning away and joining Klaus and Annaliese as they leave the castle  
-As Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff watch the trio walk away into the rain, Anna asks her sister if they will be okay and Elsa says that they will be just fine but she is not fully convinced as she adds on, "I hope..."

 ***Old friends**  
-Upon entering Annaliese's on-board suite, Annaliese makes a jokes about how rain is bad luck but Hans is more concerned about he catching a cold as he finds a quilt and wraps it around her  
-Annaliese asks if he's cold and even though he denies it, she gives him half of the quilt for them to share  
-Klaus walks in and condemns Hans for already getting cuddly with another woman but Hans immediately banters back that he has Elsa's trust unlike Klaus  
-Klaus laughs and makes light about Elsa threatening him in her study but Hans is surprised and has no clue what he's talking about which slightly unnerves Klaus as he leaves them to go change into something warmer  
-As soon as Klaus left, Annaliese immediately called Hans out on lying about his "not knowing" of Elsa's threat, but he confesses that he really didn't know about her icicle threat  
-Annaliese comments that he's still an excellent liar despite her knowing all of his tells and Hans tells her that he would never lie to her anyways as he gets up to go to his room and change into dry clothes  
-Once he leaves, Annaliese tightly wraps the quilt around her as she fondly smiles at the feeling of Hans' strong arms around her when he placed the quilt on her shoulders...upon her realization of her thoughts, she quickly throws the quilt off and wiped the nostalgia smile off her face as she remarks, "This is going to be a lot harder than I originally thought"

 ***Brotherly chat**  
-Hans steps into the suite that he and his brother are sharing and mentions to his brother that travelling in this storm is dangerous and foolish but Klaus questions Hans' trust of his crew to which Hans responds, "Well, they're not my men so...yeah"  
-Klaus asks Hans that if he were to ask him a question, would he answer it truthfully...at first Hans makes a snarky remark but when he sees that his brother is being serious, Hans decides to play along  
-Klaus asks if Hans put Elsa up to threatening him and Hans tells him no because he does not trust his brother to have alone time with his wife  
-Klaus confesses that he can't believe that he could ever be scared of a woman which makes Hans laugh and he mentions that it's safe knowing that he and Elsa are on the same team now  
-As Hans continues to talk, he takes off his wet shirt to dry off and catches sight of himself in the mirror, noticing his scars from Sperca. In order to avoid Klaus noticing the scars, he quickly grabbed a towel and wrapped it around is upper body  
-Klaus decides to ask Hans another questions...does he love Elsa?  
-Hans slightly hesitated before answering, "She's...tolerable."  
-Klaus is pleased by this answer and compliments Hans on his ability to act like he cares for his Arendelle family...he also adds that he's proud of his youngest brother

 ***Unethical assisstance**  
-Anna is being slightly over accommodating to her sister as she continually asks if Elsa is alright and if she wants Anna to sleep in her room with her...however Elsa is content with Henry's company as she cradles him in her arms  
-Anna is confused as to why Elsa is so calm and Elsa replies "Worrying is not going to bring them back sooner"  
-Elsa prompts Anna to go to bed and thanks her for being so supportive  
-Once alone, Elsa relaxes on her bed with Henry and allows herself to think about the events of the day...mostly about how helpful Annaliese going with Hans may turn out and she finds a strange bit of comfort in knowing that the two long time friends were travelling together  
-Her thoughts are interrupted when Gerda knocks on the door...Elsa asks her to watch Henry for her briefly as she has to formally meet with someone  
-Elsa heads out to the courtyard and maneuvers herself (with the help of her powers) through the courtyard and sneaks into the prison without being seen by her guards  
-She approaches James Jagger's cell and wakes him up to ask him for his help to which he replies with intrigue, "I'm listening?"

* * *

 **Alrighty! First 6 chapters have been summarized and I'll hopefully have the remaining 6 chapters uploaded in about a week...thank you so much for your patience! I greatly appreciate your support and kindness!**


	15. Summaries (Part II) & Chapter 13 Preview

**Hi everyone! So...it's clear that not many of you were thrilled about my last update being solely made up of summaries, which I totally understand how annoying that would be if you were expecting a new chapter. However, in my defense, I did ask if it would be preferred to just outright update the next chapter or if summaries would be better and the majority voted for the summaries. But that's beside the point...so this chapter will contain** ** _very_** **brief summaries of the last 6 chapters and a decent part of the next chapter. (Full disclosure: I have not yet finished the next chapter so I'm giving you everything I've got.) Please be considerate to the fact that I am trying to please both opinions of pro-summaries and anti-summaries. With that, I hope you guys enjoy the next small step into the remainder of Warm Hugs 3 and, above all else, Happy Reading! :)**

 **Summaries:**

 _ **CHAPTER 7**_

 **-** Elsa gets James Jagger on board to help them develop newer weapons for Arendelle  
-Hans and Annaliese begin their plan on extracting information from Klaus  
-Anna grows suspicious of Elsa (Elsa has not told her yet about the new weapons idea)  
-Elsa has a meeting with her council about the development of new weapons and they are surprisingly supportive of the idea

 _ **CHAPTER 8**_

 _ **-**_ Elsa tells Anna and Kristoff about the development of new weapons and that James will be in charge  
-Elsa also reveals to them that she is a self-taught swordsman and that they will learn how to fight with swords and eventually the guns, when they are ready  
-Hans was caught off guard with Annaliese sneaking up on him and then he notices the bruise on her neck given to her by Klaus which infuriates him but he cannot do anything because he has to stay on everyone's good side  
-Elsa and Captain Stephen begin teaching Anna and Kristoff how to sword fight  
-Hans and Annaliese stay up all night going over the information that Annaliese gathered from Klaus  
-Klaus suspects somethings going on between Hans and Annaliese but a couple of night crewmen defended the story that Hans told Klaus  
-The trio finally arrived at the Southern Isles...they are greeted by Hans' third eldest brother, Simon, (who is very kind and friendly towards Hans) and Klaus bluntly tells him about Kendrick's death and Simon tells Annaliese that it will be her job to announce the news of Kendrick's death

 ** _CHAPTER 9_**

-Hans and Annaliese join the rest of the Southern Isles princes for breakfast which first started off with a somewhat pleasant conversation with his second eldest brother Viktor but thanks to some of the younger siblings (Jefferson and Charles) the breakfast leads to crude comments about Elsa and Hans' lack of children...this causes Hans to angrily storm out of the dining room followed by Annaliese when they brother's question her about Kendrick and their lack of children  
-Elsa and Captain Stephen continue to intensely train Anna and Kristoff with sword fighting as the couple duel each other  
-After Anna and Kristoff go to lunch, Captain Stephen insists that Elsa duel with him and after some persuasion, she agrees  
-Hans takes Annaliese to his room to console her after her meltdown during breakfast...however he is concerned when she immediately snaps out of her meltdown and begins to probe him for information about why Hans was so angered by his brother's comments about his and Elsa's lack of children...he realizes that he never told her about Elsa's pregnancy nor miscarriage and he does not get the chance to do so because Klaus interrupts them...Annaliese sneaks out of Hans' room via the hidden exit (the fireplace)  
-Klaus and Hans are on their way to meet with their father when Klaus points out that Annaliese had no reason to be so upset during breakfast and Hans struggles to find a reason as well since she had no idea about the miscarriage

 ** _CHAPTER 10_**

 ** _-_** Anna expresses to Kristoff how worried she is of Hans' safety and how scared she is about losing anyone as she now understands that Elsa is preparing them for battle  
-As Klaus and Hans wait in the hall to meet with their father, Klaus and Hans share a brotherly chat that leads to Klaus realizing that Hans truly loves and cares for Elsa...before he gets the chance to blow Hans' cover, he suddenly collapses and remains unconscious as Hans gets dragged away to the prison as he is unjustly accused of injuring his brother  
-Elsa and Captain Stephen engage in an epic duel leading to Elsa accidentally using her powers and throwing a solid jab at the Captain, nailing him in the jaw...Elsa immediately tries to tend to his injury which causes her to lose the duel...as she insists on tending to his injuries they are caught in an accidental intimate embrace by Anna who immediately assumes that something romantic is going on between them...Elsa quickly reassures her sister that nothing is going on between her and the Captain and that Elsa does not need to seek comfort in a man during this time of Hans' absence  
-After Hans spent the day napping in his old prison cell, a young woman (also the head nurse) named Leila Nott proves Hans' innocent and Annaliese uses her authority as "Queen of Sperca" to convince the guards to release Hans...Hans is very grateful for the two ladies and properly introduces himself to Leila...he finds out that Klaus is okay and that he just collapsed from sleep deprivation and excessive amounts of stress...Hans also finds out that Leila actually lived in the Southern Isles when she was young and her and Annaliese her childhood friends before Leila moved away and Annaliese moved into the castle with her mother  
-Anna expresses her concern to Kristoff about Elsa and Captain Stephen but Kristoff is not convinced and convinces Anna that her imagination is just going crazy and that Elsa is fiercely loyal to Hans...Anna realizes her mistake and this leads to a bunch of KristAnna fluff  
-Anna is startled awake in the middle of night after having a vision-like nightmare about what's to come...she and Kristoff immediately go to Elsa's room and convince Elsa that Corona needs to be warned about what is happening since they would make an easy first target for Vortex

 _ **CHAPTER 11**_

 _ **-**_ Rapunzel experiences a horrific nightmare about Thomas kidnapping her daughter, Evie, and then killing Rapunzel as revenge for when she saved Elsa back in London...Rapunzel tells Eugene and they decide that they need to send a letter of warning to Arendelle and also discuss what happened in London with Rapunzel's parents  
-Elsa writes letters to her family in Corona about what has occurred in both Arendelle and the Southern Isles due to a recent nightmare Anna experienced...Also James' lab is completed and he is escorted to his new weapons lab for the first time...Elsa and Captain Stephen also share an awkward conversation about Anna accidentally catching them in an out-of-context embrace...they end up talking through the situation and depart on good and more familiar terms as Captain Stephen insists that Elsa calls him Edward and vice versa when in informal environments  
-Hans has a good heart-to-heart talk with his second eldest brother, Viktor, while visiting Klaus in the infirmary...Viktor confesses he figured out that Hans was lying about his true feelings for Elsa...however, Viktor later reveals to Hans a similar story about when he deceived their father 14 years ago in order for him to marry his wife who was only a maid servant at an American embassy...feeling better about trusting Viktor, Hans confesses to him about Elsa's miscarriage and Viktor is able to comfort him by telling Hans about how he and his wife went through several miscarriages during the first few years of their marriage but now they have 3 healthy children...afterwards, Hans finally meets with his father to find out that his father wishes to put Hans in command of running the investigation in finding the assassin  
-Thomas Sullivan is visited by his usual visitor, however, Thomas is not very happy to see them and angrily argues as to why he is still locked up...the visitor simply tells him that his lack of patience and his rage is the reason why he is still in prison...When Thomas begins to question their motives, the visitor reveals that they possess telekinetic powers as they throw Sullivan across his cell

 _ **CHAPTER 12**_

-Over a month has passed since Hans left Arendelle and begun leading the investigation in finding his father's attacker...the investigation is going nowhere and Simon expresses his irritation about the whole thing...Hans is about to go meet with his father when Annaliese reveals that she discovered chatter in town about how the Southern Isles mid-summer festival, Corona's Festival of Lights, and Arendelle's Great Thaw Celebration all fall on the same day and that there may some explosive elements...this alarms Hans and he hurries to his room to write Arendelle and Corona letters of warning  
-Elsa is finishing up her nightly routine of walking around the castle grounds as a way to observe any suspicious activity when she stops off at James' lab to escort him back to his cell...upon her arrival he excitedly shows her his latest weapon design and plans on testing it tomorrow...as Elsa walks him back to his cell, she thanks him for what he is doing and he explains that he is grateful for the opportunity to help out the kingdom he loves...Elsa feels that James is genuine about his remorse about what he did to the royal family but she still has issues trusting people...this leads to thinking about Hans and Elsa reminisces on their last few moments together before his departure  
-Hans arrives late to meet with his father and his father is not pleased until Hans explains that a huge development has occurred in the investigation...Hans also explains the possibility of a terrorist threat to the Southern Isles, Corona, and Arendelle but when Hans suggests that they send their allies letters of warning his father turns down the idea...Hans is bewildered and confused so his father explains that an attack on Arendelle will make the citizens distrust Elsa and Corona will act as collateral damage...Hans acts calm and understanding but once he returns to his room he is filled with rage and hatred towards his father  
-Elsa and Captain Stephen (along with other royal guards) are present in the testing of James' new weapons...at first things go very well but the more James tests it, the more chaotic it gets until a stray bullet almost kills Elsa and Captain Stephen until Elsa intervenes and manages to hit the bullet with her powers, turning the bullet to ice and causing it to drop and shatter all over the floor...while everyone is impressed by Elsa's powers, James is horrified to have almost hurt Elsa for a second time but Elsa briefly consoles him and reminds him why she asked for his help in the first place

* * *

 **Chapter 13 SNEAK PEEK**

The summer air was cool and crisp as the morning sun's rays stretched over the sleeping kingdom of the Southern Isles. It was still early in the morning as bits of sunlight streaked through the castle windows and rested upon Hans' sleeping face. He squinted at the light in his eyes which caused him to stir and glance over at his clock that read 5:32. He sat up with a tired groan and blearily rubbed his eyes, noticing that he had not changed clothes from last night. He decided that since it was still rather early and he was feeling gross from the day before, now would be a good time to wash up and take a quick bath. He started the bath before grabbing some fresh clothes from his wardrobe so that the water could warm up a bit. Once in the bathroom, he stole a quick glance in the mirror and grumbled at his exhausted appearance. He had never been hit by a train but he had been punched by Anna and he felt worse now than he did when she gave him that solid jab. He was not only physically worn but his mental and emotional health was also weak.

Once the water temperature was to his liking, he disrobed and slid into the warm refreshing water. He gave himself a good scrub before resting his head back against the edge of the tub and letting the relaxing aromas subdue his stress. With his eyes closed, he let mind start processing last night's meeting with his father. He knew that he had to send the letters he had written but there was absolutely no way he was going to have them delivered on time. He needed to find another way but he was stumped. There was literally nothing he could do.

His thoughts then shifted over to Annaliese and her progress in finding the conspirators. He figured that she had not found them or any more information on them yet or else she would have come straight to him. That is when he remembered that he was going to have a brief talk with her and her recently strange behavior. He noticed that the more time they spent in the Southern Isles, the more this new and emotionally stoic version of Annaliese had progressed. Hans worried that she was beginning to harden like he once did when he walked his dark and criminal path. In fact, their encounter last night was the first time since the arrival breakfast fiasco that she had acted like her usual animated self that he grew up knowing. He really needed to get himself and Annaliese back to Arendelle soon before they started to grow accustomed to his jaded family habits.

With his eyes still closed, he cleared his mind of all things Southern Isles and he let himself pretend that he was back in Arendelle. Back in his and Elsa's on suite bathroom, soaking in their tub. He imagined hearing Anna's laugh as she and Kristoff played with Sven and Olaf in the courtyard. He even imagined hearing Elsa's sweet voice in the bedroom, humming one of her many songs that she liked to sing when she was feeling relaxed and content. Feeling a wave of peace and joy wash over his tired soul, he even let himself hum along with Elsa's song. Letting his imagination fully takeover his senses, he heard a gentle knock on the bathroom followed by a delicate voice, "Hans? Are you in there?"

Hans smiled at the thought of seeing Elsa, "Yes, come in."

He heard the bathroom door open up and a couple of light footsteps walked onto the tile floor, "Prince Hans, I-whoa!"

Hans suddenly opened his eyes and realized that the young woman standing in the bathroom was not his wife, "Leila?! What are you doing in here?!" He abruptly splashed as he sat up in the tub, spilling water all over the floor.

Upon seeing Hans in the tub, Leila immediately diverted her eyes upward in order to give him privacy, "In, uh, my defense you told me to come in."

"I thought you were someone else." Hans instantly cringed at his response, "I mean, I thought you were Elsa." He noticed the amused look on Leila's face even though she was still silently staring at the ceiling, "I was letting myself believe that I was back in Arendelle and I guess I let my imagination run a little too wild. I imagined that Elsa was in the other room and so when you knocked I just assumed-"

"You don't have to explain, Your Highness, I get the idea." They awkwardly remained in their spots for a few seconds before Leila uncomfortably laughed, "Um, I had something to tell you, but first, do you need me to get you a towel?"

"I can get it myself if you would just turn around, please?" She happily obliged as he carefully climbed out of the slick tub and cautiously hurried over to the towel cabinet across the room, careful not to slip on all of the water splashed onto the floor. Once he reached the towels, he swiftly dried off and tightly wrapped the towel around his waist, "Alright, I'm a little more decent."

She turned around and gave him a quick up and down glance, taking in his athletically slim body with his broad shoulders and chiseled chest and abdomen, "Hmm. Elsa's a lucky woman." She teased with a playful wink. Hans rolled his eyes but she could see a little bit of pink stain his cheeks in embarrassment. Leila's teasing mood subsided when she noticed Hans' scars, "Where did you get those?"

"Oh these…" Hans mentally slapped himself for not covering up his wounds as he searched for a shirt or robe to put on. He could not find the clothes he grabbed from the wardrobe earlier and that's when he remembered that he forgot them on his bed. Then he realized that Leila was still standing by the door, staring at his scars in curiosity, "I got these from an expedition." He mindlessly responded as he glanced past her and spotted the clothes on his bed.

"Where did you go?" She curiously cocked her head.

"Um, I don't remember. It was a long time ago."

She crossed her arms in doubt, "Uh-huh."

"What?" Hans returned his focus on Leila and her skeptical expression.

Leila started to carefully walk towards him in order to get a better look without slipping on the slick floor, "By the looks of them, those scars resulted from some serious injuries and serious injuries do not tend to be easily forgotten."

"Like I said, it was a long time ago." Hans nonchalantly shrugged as he tried to leisurely walk past her.

"I don't think so…" She stopped directly in front of him, glancing up and down his abdomen, "Seems to me like they're still in the early stages of healing. I'd say maybe a year or two old, tops." She casted her eyes upward to meet his, a knowing look on her face.

Hans sighed as he reluctantly gave in. He knew that he could not fool her, she was the head nurse after all. "Okay, fine, you're right but I don't like to talk about it." He tried to walk around her but she was staying persistent.

"Let me see it. I might have some ointment that could help them heal up in no time."

"No thank-ahh!" Hans was not paying attention where he was stepping as he accidentally stepped back onto a very large and slick puddle that cause him to start falling backwards. Leila's eyes grew wide as she lunged for him and grabbed his wrists. Unfortunately, Hans' heavier weight and stronger momentum was too great for her to counterbalance, especially since she was unable to find her footing on the slippery ground. So as Hans fell to the floor, he accidentally dragged Leila with him and the two landed with a loud thud. However as Hans' body hit the floor, his head did not. Once on the floor, Hans blinked a couple times before realizing that Leila was on top of him with her hands interlocked with each other behind his head as they provided Hans with a makeshift pillow.

Leila looked down at him in alarm, "Prince Hans, are you alright?" She was completely unaware of how her entire body was resting on top of his or that their faces were only a breath away from each other.

"I'm okay." Hans breathed with an embarrassed smile, "But, uh, could you please get off of me?"

"Oh!" Leila gently released her hands as Hans' head was place on the floor. She swiftly rolled off of him and then helped him sit up, "I'm so sorry, I saw you slip and it was just a reflex reaction to intervene-"

"Don't apologize." Hans chuckled as they both stood up and recomposed themselves, "That was pretty impressive what you did with your hands." Hans walked into his bedroom and grabbed the clothes spread out on his bed before heading behind the changing screen.

"Thanks." She followed him back into his room and sat on the edge of his bed as he got dressed, "A fall like that could have done some damage to that noggin of yours."

"Well, then I guess I should be thanking you then." He stepped out from behind the changing screen, fully dressed with a charming smile on his face, "Thank you."

"Protecting the well-being of the royal family is my job." She let her eyes give his body the once-over, "But in all seriousness, you are okay right? Nothing hurts?"

"I'm fine. Really."

"If you're sure." She shrugged.

"What was it you wanted to talk to me about?" Hans sauntered towards his full length mirror in order to check his appearance.

"It's about Annaliese."

Hans used the mirror to look at her concerned face, "Is she alright?"

"I don't know. I was supposed to have breakfast with her this morning but she wasn't in her room so I thought that maybe she came by to talk to you." She glanced around his room, "Have you seen her?"

"The last time I saw her was last night. I'm sure she's fine. She must have been caught up in doing something for me and just forgot about breakfast."

"So you're not worried?" Leila inquisitively cocked her head at him, her blue eyes filled with curiosity.

"No." Hans finally turned away from the mirror in order to face Leila, "Are you?"

She timidly shrugged, "Well, if you're not then I won't be."

As she stood up and headed towards the door, Hans could not help but inquiringly watch her calm composure, "Well that was easy."

Her hand paused on the door handle, "What was?"

"Letting go of your worry, controlling your emotions."

She glanced over her shoulder to look towards him, "I work in the medical field and as the head nurse I find myself in a lot of stressful and emotional situations so I am quite used to quieting my emotions in order to think clearly and work efficiently." She turned back to the door but something was nagging her, "Can I ask you something?"

Hans propped his foot up on the chest at the foot of his bed as he slid his boots on. "I suppose." He nonchalantly shrugged.

"Annaliese told me about how your brothers used to abuse you while you were growing up here."

"Is that the question?" Hans quipped as he continued to keep his focus on his boots.

"No, it's just…" She turned away from the door to face him again, "I've been watching you for the past month and you do not act like a man who experienced an abusive childhood."

Hans let out a tired sigh, still keeping his eyes focused downward, "There is no easy way to answer that statement."

She thoughtfully furrowed her brows together as if trying to decipher his ambiguity, "Are you not afraid of your brothers anymore?"

"Not really." Hans humorlessly chucked with a half-smile, "They've already done their worst to me and I'm still here so I don't think there's anything they could do that would phase me now."

Leila leaned back against the door and curiously tilted her head, "Then what worries you?"

After a long pause, he finally lifted his head and meet her curious eyes, "The well-being of my family back in Arendelle…Annaliese included as well."

Leila lifted her brows in surprise with a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, "Hm." She seemed to hesitate as she tried to find the proper response to such an honest and heartfelt answer, "You know what? I'm glad that you ended up being the King Consort of Arendelle…you seem to really care about your people and that makes all the difference." She shyly dropped her eyes downward towards her feet as she timidly played with a loose strand of her hair. Her behavior reminded Hans of Anna which made him miss his Arendelle family even more. He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Leila quietly speak up again, "So, um, if you see Annaliese before me, could you tell her that I was looking for her?"

"Absolutely." He nodded with a sincere smile.

"Thank you." She properly bowed, "Good day, Your Highness." After he bowed his head in return, she turned and left his room, making sure to close the door behind him. Hans stood there for a couple minutes as he let himself process what had just happened. The longer he thought about Leila and her Anna-like behavior, the bigger his nostalgic smile grew on his face. Even Leila accidentally falling on top of him in the bathroom reminded Hans about the first time he met Anna at the docks in Arendelle.

He certainly missed everyone back in Arendelle, even Kristoff, although he would never admit that to him. As much as he and Kristoff liked to banter, Hans always knew that Kristoff was loyal and trustworthy and he would do anything to protect those he loves.

The smile on Hans' face disappeared as he remembered the troubling news that he fell asleep thinking about last night. There were multiple possible terror attacks brewing in Corona, Arendelle, and the Southern Isles and he could not warn their allied kingdoms. Perhaps he could talk to Viktor about this and they could possibly find another, more trustworthy way of transporting the news. He was relieved that Viktor and he seemed to be getting along very well during the past month and that Hans could trust him with the on-going investigation. However, Hans had still withheld the information about Vortex and the run-in they experienced in London.

Feeling conflicted, Hans wandered toward his nightstand and opened up the top drawer that contained the two letters he wrote to Corona and Arendelle last night. As he reached down to pick them up, he heard a light tapping sound. Hearing this strange noise, Hans instantly froze where he stood with his hand lightly resting upon the letters. After a few seconds of silence, Hans continued what he was doing as he grabbed the letters and sat on the edge of his bed, closing his nightstand drawer with his free hand. Hans stared down at the letters as he tried to figure out how to he could send these in time and without getting on his father's bad side. As his mind continued reeling, his thoughts were interrupted by the same tapping sound, this time louder than before.

Hans' head snapped up and his eyes cautiously scanned his room in order to find out where that noise was coming from. Finally, he noticed a seagull happily perched upon his window sill. He did a double take when he noticed that the bird was intensely staring at him, followed by it leaning forward and gently tapping on the glass window, as if it were knocking. Hans was so stunned by the sight that he quickly rubbed his eyes to see if he was just imagining it. But once he removed his hands, the seagull was still there, this time it was curiously cocking its head side-to-side.

Feeling curious as to the bird's persistence, Hans slowly stood up and cautiously walked toward the window. He unlocked the latch and warily opened the window, noticing a small pendant hanging from the bird's neck. "What's this?" He carefully reached towards the bird in order to get a closer look at the pendant and to his surprise the seagull did not even flinch at his touch. Hans examined the pendant and noticed an intricate 'A' engraved on one side and a symbol of a trident engraved on the other side. "I've seen this symbol before…" Hans thought out loud, trying to remember where he saw these symbols. His eyes slowly grew wide as realization struck him, "This is the symbol to the mythical underwater city of Atlantica. I remember reading about this in one of my mythology books as a child." Then he remembered something that Anna had mentioned after coming back from visiting Rapunzel in Corona, _"Oh and mermaids exist! Yeah apparently mermaids are real-"_

He glanced down at the seagull and curiously raised his eyebrows at it, "Are you supposed to be a messenger from Atlantica?" The bird cheerfully squawked before stretching out its wings and giving them a quick flap as it leapt off its perch. Hans watched in fascination as the seagull flew into a nearby tree and in a matter of seconds, it returned with an envelope in its beak. Hans hesitantly reached for the envelope, still pretty freaked out by what was happening. The seagull seemed to sense his hesitation as it lowered its head and dropped the envelope onto the window sill. Hans smiled when he noticed the seal of Corona on the back of the envelope. He could not open it fast enough and his smile grew even wider when he noticed that the letter was addressed to him.

 _To Prince Hans of the Southern Isles, King Consort of Arendelle,_

 _We sent you and Queen Elsa a letter about a month ago but we have not received any response. Therefore, we have surmised that either our letter was never received or your response was never delivered. This, of course, would mean that someone does not wish our kingdoms to correspond with one another via traditional means. As a result, we have decided to entrust any further communication into the hands of the underwater kingdom of Atlantica. Eugene has corresponded with a couple princesses from Atlantica and they have agreed, with their father King Triton's blessing, to help us with our endeavors._

 _It has come to our attention that there has been some suspicious activity occurring in the Southern Isles and thanks to the help of the Princesses of Atlantica we were able to find out about your impromptu trip back to your homeland. We hope your father is doing well as he is a respectable ruler and a fierce ally of Corona. Rapunzel recently came forward and explained to me about the trouble you and your family ran into while in London last fall with the terrorist organization Vortex. She has also feared that their leader, Thomas Sullivan, is planning to seek revenge on both our family and yours. In that respect, we hope that you stay alert to this possibility of an attack._

 _We hope to hear from you soon, as confirmation that you are safe and that you have received this letter. We have also sent a letter to Queen Elsa in hopes that she may confirm this as well. Rapunzel and Eugene send their regards and hope you are well._

 _Sincerely,_

 _King Fredrick of Corona_

Hans reread the letter over and over again, amazed and slightly stunned by what was transpiring. He slowly lowered the letter and rested his gaze onto the seagull staring attentively at him. "So um…" He could not help but feel silly talking to a bird, "Do I give you my reply?" The seagull seemed to understand him as it squawked and flapped its wings. "Alright…well…"

Hans strode over to where he left the letters on his bed and grabbed them, shaking his head in disbelief, "I can't believe I'm entrusting these important letters to a bird." As Hans walked back over to the seagull, who was still patiently waiting on the windowsill, he awkwardly asked, "Um, I actually have two letters that need to be sent. One to Corona and one to Arendelle. They're rather urgent so if there's any way these can be delivered before the week's end that would be great."

He chuckled at the bird's intense expression, as if it were actually understanding what he was saying. "Here you go, I guess…" He hesitantly outstretched his arm and offered the bird the letters. The seagull calm reached out and grabbed both letters in its beak before giving Hans a subtle head nod as it flapped its wings and took off towards the sea.

Hans rested his elbows on the window sill as he watched the bird fly away in intrigue. "I've officially lost my mind." He chuckled to himself, "I just placed the safety and future well-being of Arendelle and Corona in the beak of a bird."


End file.
